Career: Diesel found getting acting jobs difficult until his mother gave him a book about making low-budget films. That led him to write, direct and star in short film Multi-Facial in 1994, which was well-received at the Cannes Film Festival. His first feature film, Strays, wasn't as well appraised, but Steven Spielberg was impressed enough to cast him in Saving Private Ryan. Diesel went on to voice The Iron Giant before tackling his first lead role in 2000's modest sci-fi hit Pitch Black. That made casting directors take notice, and he has since appeared in such blockbusters as The Fast and the Furious and xXx, as well as their sequels. Other films include The Pacifier, Find Me Guilty and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Career: Rodriguez appeared as an extra in the films Summer of Sam and Cradle Will Rock. She went to a New York casting call for the movie Girlfight, and landed the lead role. It brought her to the attention of leading casting agents, and before long she was snapped up for the projects 3AM, The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil, Blue Crush and SWAT. A keen video game fan, she lent her dulcet tones to Driver 3 and Halo 2, and currently provides one of the voices for animated series IGPX. Aside from appearing in Lost, she can soon be seen in horror thriller The Breed.

Career: Brewster made her film debut in The Faculty (1998) but she really made her mark playing Mia Toretto in the hugely popular movie The Fast and the Furious (2001). Since then, Brewster has starred in more films in The Fast and the Furious franchise and appeared in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) and American Heist (2014). She had recurring roles on the TV spy comedy Chuck and the reboot of Dallas.

Career: In 1998, Gibson was signed by RCA Records. His debut single, Nobody Else, reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later the same year, he released his self-titled album. He continues to record albums. He first made an impact as an actor in John Singleton's Baby Boy (2001), but he is best known for playing Roman Pearce in the Fast and the Furious franchise. His other film credits include Four Brothers (2005), Transformers (2007) and two sequels, Legion (2010) and Black Nativity (2013).

Career: Ludacris continues to release music, but he is perhaps best known for playing Tej Parker in the Fast and the Furious movies. His other film credits include Crash (2005), American Hustle (2007), Fred Claus (2007), Max Payne (2008), RocknRolla (2008), Gamer (2009) and No Strings Attached (2011). Since 2014, he has been a judge on the reality show Rising Star.

Career: An agent spotted Theron arguing with a bank clerk and signed her on the spot. After eight months of acting lessons she landed her first role, a non-speaking part in Children of the Corn III. A more significant role in 2 Days in the Valley followed. Tom Hanks cast her in That Thing You Do! in 1996, and she hasn't looked back, appearing in hits such as The Devil's Advocate, Mighty Joe Young, and Reindeer Games. In 2003, she starred in the remake of The Italian Job and critically acclaimed drama Monster; her performance in the latter won her an Oscar. She also starred in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Aeon Flux, Hancock, The Road, Young Adult, Snow White & the Huntsman and Prometheus.

Career: In 2001, Cena signed with the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) and made his TV debut a year later against Kurt Angle. Cena soon became a fan favourite and wrestled under the names The Prototype and Mr P. Away from wrestling, he began making a name for himself as an actor. In 2006, he starred in WWE movie The Marine and went on to star in 12 Rounds (2009), Legendary (2010) and a number of Fred movies.