Career: Firth worked steadily throughout the 1980s in notable projects such as Falklands drama Tumbledown, A Month in the Country (opposite Kenneth Branagh) and the period offering Valmont. But it was the 1995 costume drama Pride and Prejudice that made him a superstar. Since then, he's notched up roles in several successful films, including The English Patient, Fever Pitch, Shakespeare in Love, The Importance of Being Earnest, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Love Actually, both Bridget Jones movies, both St Trinian's films, The Accidental Husband, Mamma Mia! and A Single Man. It was 2010 movie The King's Speech that really consolidated his reputation. It garnered a number of glittering awards and Firth's Bafta Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role was consolidated by an Academy Award for Best Actor. Films since include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Magic in the Moonlight.

Career: Egerton had a recurring role in Sky1 drama The Smoke and went on to star in Testament of Youth (2014), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) and Legend (2015). He plays the title role in Eddie the Eagle (2016).

Career: Jackson's first film was Together for Days in 1972. He later spent two years as a stand-in on The Cosby Show, before starring in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. A series of walk-on parts in films and on TV followed. Spike Lee cast him as the crack-addicted Gator in Jungle Fever, which gained him international acclaim. His most notable films have included Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction (for which he was Oscar-nominated), Star Wars: Episodes One, Two and Three, Shaft, The 51st State, Unbreakable, Changing Lanes, Black Snake Moan, Django Unchained, Thor, The Avengers and many more. He is regarded as one of the most bankable assets in the movie business and always has a number of films in the pipeline.

Career: Strong made his TV debut in a 1989 episode of After Henry and followed this up with a number of guest roles in the likes of The Bill, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect 3 and Kavanagh QC. In 1996, he had a starring role in acclaimed BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North. Since then he has appeared in dozens of TV shows and featured in a number of films, including Revolver (2005), Syriana (2005), RocknRolla (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Robin Hood (2010), Green Lantern (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), John Carter (2012) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). In 2013, Strong played a detective in short-lived AMC crime drama Low Winter Sun, reprising the lead role he played in the original 2006 British miniseries.

Career: In 2013, Cookson starred in the TV film Moonfleet. In the same year, she was cast as the female lead in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). More recently, she has filmed Emperor (2016) and The Huntsman Winter's War (2016).

Career: Boutella has appeared in a number of films, advertisements and TV shows as a dancer. Her breakthrough came in 2007, when she was cast in a Nike Women's advertising campaign. After that, she got work performing on concert tours with artists like Madonna and Rihanna. She later moved in to acting and had a starring role as Eva in StreetDance 2 (2012). Since then, she has had major roles in such films as Monsters: Dark Continent (2014), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).

Career: Caine worked on stage and appeared in small roles on TV, often struggling to make ends meet. He was good friends with Terence Stamp during the early 1960s, before either became famous, and they often shared digs. Caine decided if he wasn't successful by the age of 30 he'd quit acting. Days before this milestone he landed the role in Zulu which made his name. The Harry Palmer spy movies, The Italian Job and Alfie secured his star status. Since then, he's made many films, many forgettable and, by his own admission, done for the money. Highlights include Get Carter, Sleuth (plus a remake), The Man Who Would Be King, Educating Rita, Little Voice, Mona Lisa, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Harry Brown and Interstellar. He won Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules. He claims he will retire from showbusiness when he's 90.

Career: Davenport became a sought-after actor and heart-throb after starring as Miles in hit series This Life. Projects such as Talos the Mummy, Macbeth, and Ultraviolet followed, before he made his Hollywood debut in The Talented Mr Ripley in 1999. Since then, he's returned to TV to star in acclaimed sitcom Coupling and made little-seen movies such as Offending Angels, The Bunker, Look, and Gypsy. His biggest film role to date came in The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He also appeared in The Boat That Rocked, and was a cast member of US shows FlashForward and Smash. Davenport returned to the UK to make ITV series Breathless.