Career: Castellaneta started working at The Second City, an improvisational comedy theatre, in 1983 and stayed until 1987. During this time, he did voiceover work for various radio stations. He was hired to work on The Tracey Ullman Show and he started voicing Homer Simpson in The Simpsons, which was initially aired as a series of animated shorts. The Simpsons has since become a half-hour show and Castellaneta has continued to provide the voice of Homer. He has also voiced many other characters, including Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble and Krusty the Clown. Castellaneta and his wife, Deb Lacusta, have also written several episodes of The Simpsons. He has done voice acting for a number of other animated series too, including Back to the Future, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Hey Arnold!, The Batman and Futurama. Besides voice acting, Castellaneta has had on screen parts in such series as Entourage, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, Greek, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother and Desperate Housewives. He has appeared in such films as K-9 (1989), The War of the Roses (1989), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Super 8 (2011) and Fantastic Four (2015).

Career: Kavner won her first notable role on popular comedy series Rhoda as Brenda Morgenstern in 1974 and stayed on until it finished four years later, winning an Emmy award for her performance. She then moved on to guest stints on The Tracey Ullman Show, in which a number of animated shorts were to be included. Producers were looking for voices for the cartoons and enlisted the actress. This just happened to turn into The Simpsons, which proved a runaway success. Despite voicing Marge since 1988 (and reportedly earning more than $400,000 per episode), Kavner has fitted in several film roles over the years, including her first starring role in This Is My Life from 1992.

Career: Cartwright's first professional voice acting role was in the animated series Richie Rich. She went on to appear on-screen in the leading role in TV film Marian Rose White (1982) and her first feature film was Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). In 1987, she auditioned for a role on The Simpsons while it was a series of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. She voiced Bart Simpson for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show and has retained the role ever since The Simpsons became a half-hour show. Cartwright also voices other characters on The Simpsons, including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum and Todd Flanders. Besides The Simpsons, Cartwright has voiced Chuckie Finster in Rugrats and All Grown Up!, Mindy in Animaniacs, Rufus in Kim Possible and many other characters. She has also appeared on-camera in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 24, Empty Nest and Godzilla (1998).

Career: Smith appeared in a number of Broadway productions before landing her first film roles in Heaven Help Us (1985) and The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and landed a recurring role in the TV series Brothers. In 1987, she auditioned for The Simpsons shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. She has voiced Lisa Simpson ever since and the series was spun into a half-hour show in 1989. Away from The Simpsons, Smith played Louise in the sitcom Herman's Head. She has also appeared in such series as Dharma & Greg, Dead Like Me, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory and The Mindy Project. Her film credits include City Slickers (1991), Jingle All the Way (1996) and As Good as It Gets (1997).

Career: A few bit parts in comedy series were to be Hank's first roles, but it was his voice that earned him the attention of The Simpsons' bosses; he has provided his vocal talents for the iconic show since its launch in 1989. Azaria's comedy credentials earned him roles in Pretty Woman and Point Blank. He would give a memorable performance in Robin Williams' The Birdcage, playing a Guatemalan cleaner named Agador Spartacus. He also had a small cameo in Along Came Polly in 2004, guested on Friends and was seen in British comedy Run Fat Boy Run, as well as Mystery Men, Godzilla and Night at the Museum 2. Azaria has four Emmys to his name and a reputation as being one of the most talented and versatile actors in the business.

Career: After numerous small TV and film roles, including parts in acclaimed dramas The Onion Field and Body Heat, Danson's big break came in 1982 when he was cast as retired baseball player and barkeeper Sam Malone in US sitcom Cheers. The show ran for more than a decade, and during that time, Danson received nine Emmy nominations, winning twice, and two Golden Globes. He went on to star in the successful sitcom Becker, which ran for six years. He's also starred in a number of films, including Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Made in America, Saving Private Ryan and a highly acclaimed adaptation of Gulliver's Travels. More recent TV work includes roles in Damages, Bored to Death, and CSI.

Career: Harrelson was an understudy for Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues on Broadway and appeared in various small productions before gaining the role of dimwitted barman Woody Boyd in Cheers in 1985. His TV commitments made it difficult for him to gain good movie roles, although he did star in the hit White Men Can't Jump in 1992. When the sitcom finished a year later, he concentrated on films, and has since starred in Indecent Proposal, Natural Born Killers, The People vs Larry Flynt, Welcome to Sarajevo, The Thin Red Line, A Scanner Darkly, No Country for Old Men, The Messenger, Zombieland, 2012 and The Hunger Games movies. In 2014, he starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in HBO crime drama True Detective.

Career: Throughout the 1970s, Ratzenberger performed across the UK with Ray Hassett as comedy theatrical duo Sal's Meat Market. He made his film debut in The Ritz (1976). Minor roles followed in the likes of Superman (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Gandhi (1982). His big break came in 1982 when he began playing a postal worker in the hugely popular American sitcom Cheers. The show ran until 1993 and Ratzenberger picked up two Emmy nominations during the run. He made a guest appearance in Frasier as Cliff Clavin. He is also well known for voicing Pixar characters, including Hamm the Piggy Bank in the Toy Story series, Tom the construction worker in Up, and Earl in The Good Dinosaur.