Career: Pacino made his film debut in 1969's Me, Natalie, but it was his performance as a junkie in The Panic in Needle Park two years later that prompted director Francis Ford Coppola to cast him as Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The film was a huge hit and earned Pacino his first Oscar nomination. He followed it up with more hits including Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Scarface (1983), but as his movie career appeared to be on the wane during the 1980s, he took a break to return to the theatre. He returned to the screen in 1989 with Sea of Love and, after seven previous nominations, went on to win an Oscar for Scent of a Woman (1992). He continues to combine movies, TV, theatre and directing work - recent projects include Danny Collins (2015) and Misconduct (2016).

Career: At 19, Penn began studying acting, and made early TV appearances in Barnaby Jones and Little House on the Prairie. His first film was Taps in 1981. He stole the show in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and At Close Range. Since then, he's starred in Casualties of War, Carlito's Way, Dead Man Walking, I Am Sam, Mystic River, 21 Grams, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Milk, Fair Game and Gangster Squad. He won Best Actor Oscars for Mystic River and Milk. He has also written, directed, and produced several movies, including Into the Wild. Penn also actively supports a number of political and social causes. He called for George W Bush to be impeached after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Career: Miller made a few guest appearances on TV before returning to Broadway to star in Our Town, for which she received a Tony nomination. She starred with Broderick in the big-screen adaptation of Biloxi Blues in 1988 and in the same year, she starred in Big Top Pee-wee. Roles followed in the films Awakenings (1990), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Other People's Money (1991), Chaplin (1992) and Carlito's Way (1993). More recently, she has starred in The Artist (2011) and on the small screen in Men of a Certain Age, Mistresses and American Crime. She returned to Broadway in the 1995 production of On the Waterfront.

Career: One of Leguizamo's early acting roles was a small part in Casualties of War (1989). More movies followed, including Die Hard 2 (1990), Super Mario Bros (1993), Carlito's Way (1993), To Wong Foo (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Summer of Sam (1999) and Moulin Rouge (2001). More recently, he has starred in The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), The Counselor (2013), Ride Along (2014) and Chef (2014).

Career: After several years of theatre work, Mortensen made his first film appearance playing an Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness. During the 1990s, Mortensen appeared in supporting roles in a variety of films, including Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady and Young Guns II, as well as taking leading roles in American Yakuza and Gus Van Sant's Psycho. Mortensen's major mainstream breakthrough came in 1999, when Peter Jackson cast him as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Since then, he has scored major successes with crowd-pleasing cowboy film Hidalgo, and super-tough David Cronenberg vehicles A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. His last major film was the post-apocalyptic drama The Road.