Career: Wahlberg's film career kicked off in 1993 with TV movie The Substitute. A year later he made his big-screen debut in flop comedy Renaissance Man. Impressive turns in The Basketball Diaries and Fear made critics realise he was more than just another pop star-turned-actor. It was 1997 drama Boogie Nights that made his name as an actor. By 2000 he was a Hollywood hot property with roles in Three Kings and The Perfect Storm. Although a revamp of Planet of the Apes divided critics, Wahlberg delivered fine turns in The Italian Job remake, Four Brothers, I Heart Huckabees, The Departed and The Fighter. He is also a respected producer, with credits on Entourage, In Treatment, Boardwalk Empire, and How to Make It In America.

Career: Helena's professional debut came at 16 in a TV commercial, swiftly followed by small-screen movie Pattern of Roses. The film Lady Jane followed, but it was 1985's A Room with a View which made her a star. Roles in Hamlet, Howards End and Frankenstein followed, and she was Oscar-nominated for 1997's The Wings of the Dove. The actress went on to prove she could do more than just period drama in projects such as Fight Club, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and lent her voice to animated movies Corpse Bride and Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. She made her musical debut in the big-screen version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. She's since appeared in Dark Shadows, Les Miserables and Burton & Taylor, and played Bellatrix Lestrange in several of the Harry Potter movies.

Career: Roth made his screen debut in 1982 playing a 16-year-old skinhead in acclaimed drama Made In Britain, followed by a collaboration with Gary Oldman in Mike Leigh's TV movie Meantime two years later. A string of well-received films followed including The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Roth moved to America in 1990 and hit the big time in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, reuniting with the director for his Oscar-winning 1994 drama Pulp Fiction. Roth picked up a Bafta for Rob Roy the following year and made his directing debut in 1999 with The War Zone. He stole the show in Tim Burton's revamp of Planet of the Apes in 2001 and his other films include Dark Water, Even Money, Funny Games and The Incredible Hulk. He played the lead role in American TV drama Lie to Me.

Career: Duncan's role in the movie Armageddon (1998) led to his breakthrough performance in The Green Mile (1999) when his Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis called director Frank Darabont, suggesting Michael for the part of convict John Coffey. He received critical acclaim for his performance. That led to several other key parts including a role alongside Willis in The Whole Nine Yards, and box-office successes in Daredevil and The Scorpion King. He went on to star in Sin City, The Island, School for Scoundrels, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, and Delgo. He suffered a heart attack in July 2012 and remained hospitalised for several weeks. He died on September 3, 2012, at the age of 54.

Career: Giamatti's first high-profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard Stern's Private Parts as Kenny 'Pig Vomit' Rushton, Stern's antagonistic program director at WNBC. He appeared in a number of supporting roles in big-budget movies such as The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, and The Negotiator (all in 1998). In 1999, he played Bob Zmuda (and Tony Clifton) in the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Giamatti continued to be featured in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House (2000) with Martin Lawrence, the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and in Big Fat Liar (2002) opposite Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes, before his performance in the gentle drama Sideways won major critical praise. In 2006, he was the lead in M Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, a supernatural thriller. He played Mr Hertz in the action movie Shoot 'Em Up and Santa Claus in the comedy Fred Claus. He won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his lead role in HBO's John Adams, and his most recent work includes Duplicity, The Last Station, Barney's Version (a role for which he won another Golden Globe), and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

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: Janis Joplin and Sammi Smith had number ones with his songs Me and Bobby McGee and Help Me Make It Through the Night. In 1972, Kris scored a hit in his own right thanks to Why Me, and went on to make several successful albums. His acting debut came in The Last Movie in 1971, followed by Cisco Pike, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and A Star is Born. He later formed country supergroup the Highway Men with Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. More recently, he's starred in Dolphin Tale, Deadfall and When Angels Sing.

Career: After the war, Heston worked as a model and honed his skills while running a theatre in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1947, he made his Broadway debut in Antony and Cleopatra. His first film was 1950's Dark City. Other major movies include Ben-Hur (for which he won an Oscar), Touch of Evil, The Big Country, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes and Earthquake. He also appeared in The Colbys, Wayne's World 2, and provided a voice for Cats and Dogs. Heston died of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills on April 5, 2008, at the age of 84.

Career: Having seen Frankenweenie, comedian Paul Reubens chose Burton to direct his 1985 movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure. That paved the way for his first blockbuster, Beetlejuice. Burton was entrusted with the long-awaited Batman movie, and when that became a huge hit in 1989, he pressed on with personal project Edward Scissorhands. A commercial and critical success, he followed it up with stylish sequel Batman Returns. Although 1994 offering Ed Wood was a commercial disaster, his biopic of the eponymous film-maker remains one of his finest works and also won Martin Landau an Oscar. Other hits include The Nightmare Before Christmas (which he produced), Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Alice in Wonderland was a huge commercial success when it was released in 2010.