The Martian

Matt Damon (Actor) .. Mark Watney

Born: October 08, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts

Best Known For: Jason Bourne and a string of hit movies.

Early-life: Born Matthew Paige Damon on October 8, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts. He has a brother who is now an artist and sculptor. Their father is a retired investment banker, their mother is a professor of education. They divorced in 1973, and the boys moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, with their mother. Damon met fellow actor Ben Affleck when he was 10 and they have been friends ever since.

Career: Damon dropped out of Harvard to concentrate on acting. He struggled to get roles and made his film debut in 1988's Mystic Pizza. Playing a troubled soldier in 1996's Courage Under Fire got him noticed. A year later, Good Will Hunting, based on a story by Damon and Affleck, became a major success and won them Best Screenplay Oscars. Since then, Damon has appeared in several hits, including Saving Private Ryan, Dogma, The Talented Mr Ripley, Stuck On You, The Departed, True Grit, Invictus and the Ocean's Eleven and Bourne franchises. He is now among the world's most bankable stars.

Quote: 'If anybody wanted to photograph my life, they'd get bored in a day. 'Here's Matt at home learning his lines. Here's Matt researching in aisle six of his local library'. A few hours of that and they'd go home.'

Trivia: He enjoys playing poker and has competed in several World Series of Poker (WSOP) events.

Jessica Chastain (Actor) .. Melissa Lewis

Born: March 24, 1977 in Sacramento, California

Best Known For: The Help, Zero Dark Thirty, and Interstellar.

Early-life: Jessica Michelle Chastain was born in Sacramento, California, on March 24, 1977 to Jerri and Edward. In 1998, she played Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet staged by TheatreWorks. She then moved to New York, where she attended the drama division of the Juilliard School. After graduating in 2003, she returned to California.

Career: Between 2004 and 2007, Chastain made guest appearances in a number of TV shows, including ER, Veronica Mars, Law & Order: Trial by Jury and Journeyman. She made her film debut in Jolene (2008). Her big break came in 2011 with the commercial success of The Help, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. Her other film credits include The Tree of Life (2011), The Debt (2011), Lawless (2012), The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby trilogy (2013-2014), Miss Julie (2014), Interstellar (2014) and A Most Violent Year (2014). She picked up her second Academy Award nomination for her performance in Zero Dark Thirty (2012).

Quote: 'I got teased quite a lot when I was younger but I've grown into my red hair now and see it as something that makes me unique and special.'

Trivia: She plays the ukulele.

Kristen Wiig (Actor) .. Annie Montrose

Born: August 22, 1973 in Canandaigua, New York

Best Known For: Bridesmaids and the Despicable Me films.

Early-life: Born Kristen Carroll Wiig in Canandaigua, New York, on August 22nd, 1973. Her father is of Norwegian and Irish ancestry and her mother is of English and Scottish descent. She relocated with her family to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when she was three and later moved to Rochester, New York. She studied art at the University of Arizona, where she also began acting. After dropping out of her studies she moved to Los Angeles, where she joined the sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings.

Career: In 2003, Wiig made her TV debut in The Joe Schmo Show, a spoof of reality TV. Her big break came in 2005 when she joined Saturday Night Live (SNL). She quit the show in 2012 although she has since returned as a host. During her time on SNL, she also appeared on the big screen in Knocked Up, Ghost Town, Adventureland, Date Night and Paul. Her movie breakthrough came in 2011 when she co-wrote and starred in the hugely popular Bridesmaids. She has also voiced characters in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, How to Train Your Dragon and its 2014 sequel, and the Despicable Me films in two different roles.

Quote: 'People always call me a comedian. And I don't really see myself like that. I guess I just consider myself an actor who does comedy.'

Trivia: Wiig used to be a waitress in the executive dining room of Universal Studios. In 2011, she was voted one of Peta's sexiest vegetarians.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Actor) .. Vincent Kapoor

Born: July 10, 1977 in London

Best Known For: 12 Years a Slave.

Early-life: Born Chiwetelu Umeadi Ejiofor in London on July 10, 1977, to Nigerian parents. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a pharmacist. His younger sister Zain is a correspondent with CNN. Chiwetel was 11 during a family trip to Nigeria when he and his father were involved in a car crash. His father was killed and Chiwetel received his trademark scars on his forehead. He began acting in school plays at Dulwich College and went on to join the National Youth Theatre. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art but left after his first year when he landed a part in Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997).

Career: Before Amistad, Chiwetel starred in TV movie Deadly Voyage. The film G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time (1999) was not well received, but his next film, Dirty Pretty Things (2002), led to him winning a number of awards. Since then, he has starred in Twelfth Night (2003), Love Actually (2003), Four Brothers (2005), Serenity (2005), Kinky Boots (2005), American Gangster (2007), 2012 (2009) and Salt (2010). An accomplished stage actor, he won a Laurence Olivier Award in 2008 for playing the lead role in Othello. More recently he played the lead role in the critically acclaimed 12 Years a Slave (2014).

Quote: 'I like to disappear into a role. I equate the success of it with a feeling of being chemically changed.'

Trivia: Ejiofor won a Bafta for his performance in 12 Years a Slave.

Jeff Daniels (Actor) .. Teddy Sanders

Born: February 19, 1955 in Athens, Georgia

Best Known For: Dumb and Dumber.

Early-life: Daniels was born in Georgia but grew up in Chelsea, Michigan. He attended Central Michigan University, and went on to Eastern Michigan University drama school. Theatre director Marshall Mason invited Daniels to New York to work at the Circle Repertory Theatre where he kick-started his stage career.

Career: In 1991, Daniels founded Purple Rose Theatre Company, a non-profit stage company in his hometown, of which he remains Executive Director. The role for which he'll mostly be remembered for came in 1994 in Dumb and Dumber. He's also well-known for various other roles in major movies including Pleasantville, Speed, Arachnaphobia, 101 Dalmations. He recently played the lead role in HBO drama The Newsroom.

Quote: 'One of the more noble things the Oscars can do is pay attention to movies no one knows about. Blockbusters don't need much help'.

Trivia: In 2006, he was inducted into the Michigan Walk of Fame.

Michael Pena (Actor) .. Rick Martinez

Born: January 13, 1976 in Chicago

Best Known For: A string of Hollywood movies.

Early-life: Michael Anthony Pena was born in Chicago on January 13, 1976 to social worker Nicolasa and factory worker Eleuterio. His parents emigrated from Mexico. After leaving school, Michael went to an open audition for To Sir, with Love II (1996) and landed a role. He relocated to Los Angeles and picked up parts in a number of films, including My Fellow Americans (1996), Star Maps (1997) and Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000).

Career: Pena has made guest appearances in a number of TV shows but he is best known for his film career, having starred in Crash (2004), Million Dollar Baby (2004), World Trade Center (2006), Battle: Los Angeles (2011), American Hustle (2013), Ant-Man (2015) and The Martian (2015). His recent TV credits include a recurring role on Gracepoint.

Quote: 'I've always noticed that girls cry way easier than guys do.'

Trivia: Pena is a Scientologist. He plays bass guitar with a band.

Sean Bean (Actor) .. Mitch Henderson

Born: April 17, 1959 in Sheffield

Best Known For: Blunt-talking soldier Sharpe.

Early-life: Born Shaun Mark Bean in Sheffield on April 17, 1959, the elder of two children. A fanatical Sheffield United supporter with '100% Blade' tattooed on his shoulder, he left school at 16 with two O-Levels. His first job was working for his father's welding firm, and while he was doing a day-release course at college he stumbled on an acting class. He was later accepted into Rada and made his professional stage debut in 1983 as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.

Career: Sean worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his TV debut in a 1984 episode of The Bill. Roles in The Fifteen Streets, Stormy Monday and Patriot Games followed before Lady Chatterley and the first Sharpe TV movies made him a household name in 1993. Other work includes A Woman's Guide to Adultery, Bravo Two Zero, GoldenEye, Ronin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Equilibrium, Troy, National Treasure and HBO TV series Game of Thrones. He is one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors and always has a number of productions in the pipeline.

Quote: 'I don't have any problems with women seeing me as their ideal bit of 'rough'. Why would I?'

Trivia: He has voiced characters in a number of video games.

Kate Mara (Actor) .. Beth Johanssen

Born: February 27, 1983 in Bedford, New York

Best Known For: House of Cards and Fantastic Four.

Early-life: Kate Rooney Mara was born in Bedford, New York, on February 27, 1983 to Timothy and Kathleen. She has two brothers, Daniel and Conor, and a sister, the actress Rooney Mara. Her mother's family founded the Pittsburgh Steelers and her father's family founded the New York Giants. Kate began acting at the age of nine in a school musical. She went on to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University to study musical theatre. She made her TV debut in a 1997 episode of Law & Order.

Career: Guest roles followed for Mara in a number of TV shows, including Everwood, Nip/Tuck, Boston Public, CSI Miami and CSI. She had recurring roles in Jack & Bobby and season five of 24. Her big break came in 2013 when she played Zoe Barnes alongside Kevin Spacey in the Netflix remake of House of Cards. Since then, she has largely concentrated on film roles, including Transcendence (2014), Fantastic Four (2015) and The Martian (2015). Her other film credits include Iron Man 2 (2010) and 127 Hours (2010).

Quote: 'In New York, you can just wake up and everything sorts itself out. I love that, not having a plan.'

Trivia: Mara is a vegan.

Ridley Scott (Director)

Born: November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear

Best Known For: Directing Alien, Thelma and Louise and Gladiator.

Early-life: Born on November 30, 1937, in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. He spent most of his free time drawing or watching movies. He trained at West Hartlepool Art School and the Royal College of Art, where he developed a passion for film-making. His student project, Boy On A Bicycle, won much acclaim. His brother Tony is the director of Top Gun and True Romance. Their older sibling, Frank, died of cancer in 1980.

Career: Scott worked as a designer, then as a director, on TV shows Z Cars, Softly Softly and Adam Adamant Lives. He set up his own company in the 1960s, which made classic adverts for Hovis and Guinness. His first film was 1977's The Duellists. Two years later he made Alien, which was a blockbuster. He's since directed a number of hugely successful movies including Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, GI Jane, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down and Matchstick Men. The success of these projects made him Britain's most lucrative film-maker. His most recent work includes Kingdom Of Heaven, American Gangster, Robin Hood and Prometheus. He always has several films in various stages of production.

Quote: 'People always ask me what's the plan. There is no plan. I go to what fascinates me next.'

Trivia: He was knighted in 2003.

10:00 pm - 12:10 am, Sunday, March 15 on BBC Two England (2)

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