Career: Cleese's showbiz break came with The Frost Report. By 1969, he and Chapman were working alongside Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam on Monty Python's Flying Circus, which made them household names. He left the group in 1972, although they reunited for several films. In 1975, Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth wrote and starred in Fawlty Towers, which was a worldwide hit. Projects since include A Fish Called Wanda, which he co-wrote, two Bond movies, and two Harry Potter films. He has also appeared in 3rd Rock from the Sun and Will & Grace. His stand-up show, The Alimony Tour, proved hugely popular in 2010; his most recent film, God Loves Caviar, was released in 2012.

Career: While still a bodybuilder, Sean was offered the chance to appear in a West End production of South Pacific, which kick-started his acting career. His film debut came in 1955's Lilacs in the Spring, but he didn't become a major star until he appeared as Bond in 1962's Dr No. It remains his most famous role, despite hits including The Man Who Would Be King, Rising Sun, A Bridge Too Far, Time Bandits, Highlander, The Rock, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Entrapment. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Untouchables in 1987.

Career: Holm's first professional appearance was as a spear carrier in a 1956 production of Othello. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was said to be the most likely successor to Laurence Olivier. His first memorable screen appearance came in 1968's A Midsummer Night's Dream. His most famous movies since include Alien, Chariots of Fire, Greystoke, Brazil, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Day After Tomorrow.

Career: After graduating, Palin presented TV show Now! and worked in light entertainment. In 1966, he and Jones began writing for BBC comedy shows. Three years later, they joined forces with John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam to front ground-breaking sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus. A huge hit, 45 episodes were made between 1969 and 1974, as well as five films. Palin has also starred in movies including A Fish Called Wanda, A Private Function, and American Friends (which he also wrote), and appeared in acclaimed TV drama GBH. Since the mid-1980s, he's become famous for globetrotting programmes such as Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole. He's written books to accompany each series, as well as two novels; three volumes of his diaries have also been published. He delivered 2013's Royal Television Society lecture.

Career: Warner gained acclaim with the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Wars of the Roses TV show before landing a major role in the movie Tom Jones in 1963. It paved the way for his first leading part, Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment, in 1965, the same year he won plaudits for his West End performance as Hamlet. Since then, he's made more than 150 TV and film appearances, most notably in Straw Dogs, The Omen, Time Bandits, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Man with Two Brains, Tron, two Star Trek movies and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse. He returned to Shakespeare in 2005, playing the title role in King Lear at the Chichester Festival Theatre. His later work includes roles in TV film In Love with Barbara, and the dramas Wallander and Mad Dogs.

Career: Broadbent caught the eye of casting directors following Illuminatus in 1976, a 12-hour sci-fi production. He worked with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and as the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man comedy troupe he co-founded with Patrick Barlow. Despite originally turning down the role of Del Boy, he played bent copper Roy Slater in Only Fools and Horses. Bigger parts came in the 1990s, in such projects as Life Is Sweet, Bullets Over Broadway, Richard III and Topsy-Turvy. He also starred in Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, Iris (for which he won an Oscar), Gangs of New York, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and two Harry Potter movies. His recent work includes The Iron Lady, Cloud Atlas, Le Week-End, The Harry Hill Movie, Paddington and Get Santa.

Career: Gilliam created the animated segments for Do Not Adjust Your Set and Monty Python's Flying Circus before co-directing Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Jones in 1974. He made his solo project Jabberwocky in 1977 and was art director on Monty Python's Life of Brian. His first blockbuster was 1981's Time Bandits, which paved the way for the controversial Brazil four years later. His follow-up, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, was one of the industry's most expensive flops, but Gilliam redeemed himself with The Fisher King in 1991. Other movies include Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the much-delayed The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.