Career: Downey Jr appeared in three of his father's films while still a child. His career took off in the mid-1980s thanks to such films as Weird Science, The Pick-Up Artist and Chances Are. He beat several talented actors to the lead role of Chaplin in 1989, and his performance earned him an Oscar nomination. Since then, he's appeared in Natural Born Killers, Only You, Restoration and Wonder Boys. Following his widely reported personal problems, TV show Ally McBeal gave him a chance to put his career back on track, but his character was written out when he was sacked following two drug arrests. Since then he has emerged as one of the world's most sought-after and respected thespians, with roles in the likes of The Singing Detective, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder and Sherlock Holmes catapulting him to A-list status.

Career: Geraldine began her professional career with roles in European projects, such as Gran Parada and Dernier Soir. Her breakthrough came in David Lean's adaptation of Dr Zhivago in 1965. She appeared in her father's A Countess from Hong Kong two years later. She's rarely been out of work since, mixing mainstream movies and TV shows with arty European fare. Among her more famous projects are The Three Musketeers and its sequels, Nashville, The Mirror Crack'd, My Cousin Rachel, White Mischief, Jane Eyre and Dinotopia. She also played her own grandmother in biopic Chaplin.

Career: Hopkins's first professional work was on stage. He later joined Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, but left to make acclaimed movie The Lion in Winter. A steady stream of TV and film work followed (as well as some theatre appearances), including War and Peace, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, The Bunker, A Bridge Too Far, The Elephant Man, and Across the Lake. But Hopkins didn't become a major Hollywood star until after giving up alcohol. He won an Oscar for 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, and since then has starred in such hits as The Remains of the Day, Howards End, Hannibal, Shadowlands, Thor and Hitchcock.

Career: After working on the TV soap opera Search for Tomorrow, Kline returned to the stage in 1977 in Dance on a Country Grave. A year later he won a Tony Award for his work in Harold Prince's On the Twentieth Century. He won a second Tony in 1981 for his role in The Pirates of Penzance. In 1982, Kline made his film debut in Sophie's Choice. He won an Oscar for his role in 1989 British comedy A Fish Called Wanda. His other film credits include Cry Freedom (1987), Soapdish (1991), Grand Canyon (1991), Dave (1993), French Kiss (1995), Fierce Creatures (1997), The Pink Panther (2006), No Strings Attached (2011) and Last Vegas (2013).

Career: Aykroyd met John Belushi in Chicago and introduced him to the blues before the pair appeared as The Blues Brothers on Saturday Night Live. He worked on the show between 1975 and 1979. Steven Spielberg cast him in his flop war comedy 1941, and a year later he and Belushi starred in a big-screen comedy featuring their Blues Brothers characters. They reunited for flop Neighbors before Belushi's death in 1982. Following the smash hit Trading Places, Aykroyd wrote and starred in 1984 hit Ghostbusters. A string of projects followed, including Spies Like Us, Dragnet, Driving Miss Daisy, Grosse Pointe Blank and 50 First Dates. He lent his vocal talents to the 3D Yogi Bear movie, working alongside pop star Justin Timberlake, and makes regular cameo appearances.

Career: Thaw's first professional job came at the Liverpool Playhouse. His film debut came in 1962's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, which starred Courteney. Thaw worked extensively on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre, and early TV roles came in Z Cars and Redcap. But it was The Sweeney, alongside Dennis Waterman, that made him a household name thanks to its uncompromising style. He switched to comedy with Home to Roost, but it was playing Inspector Morse that made him a national treasure. Almost everything he touched then turned to gold; he starred in top-rated dramas such as Kavanagh QC, Goodnight Mister Tom and Buried Treasure. He died in 2002 following a battle with cancer of the oesophagus.

Career: Tomei followed up a role in daytime soap opera As the World Turns with a part in the sitcom A Different World. Her film debut was a minor role in The Flamingo Kid (1984). Her breakthrough came in 1992 when she starred alongside Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, a role that earned her an Academy Award. Since then, she has starred in a number of independent and mainstream movies, including Chaplin (1992), Untamed Heart (1993), Only You (1994), What Women Want (2000), In the Bedroom (2001), Anger Management (2003), Alfie (2004), Wild Hogs (2007), The Wrestler (2008), Cyrus (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), The Ides of March (2011) and Parental Guidance (2012).

Career: Attenborough's film debut was 1942's In Which We Serve, playing a cowardly sailor; in real life, he served with the RAF's Film Unit, sustaining permanent ear damage in the process. He became a post-war star thanks to hits such as Brighton Rock (1947),The Great Escape (1963), and I'm All Right Jack (1959). He and Bryan Forbes formed a production company in the early 1960s, which made films including The Angry Silence (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961). Attenborough directed his first film, Oh! What a Lovely War, in 1969, won an Oscar for Gandhi in 1982, and also directed the acclaimed movies A Bridge Too Far (1977), Chaplin (1992) and Shadowlands (1993). He returned to acting in the 1990s to appear in Jurassic Park (1993), Miracle on 34th Street (1994), and Elizabeth (1998). He was knighted in 1976 and made a life peer in 1993. He died on August 24, 2014, at the age of 90.