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: Gambon became a member of Laurence Olivier's first Royal National Theatre company, and made his movie debut in 1965's Othello, alongside the star. His role in long-running TV show The Borderers led to an audition for James Bond. Parts in such forgettable productions as The Beast Must Die and Nothing But the Night came next. It was The Singing Detective in 1986 that finally made him a star. He's worked steadily ever since in the likes of Maigret, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Gosford Park, Doctor Who, Quartet, Sleepy Hollow and Fortitude. He took over playing Dumbledore in Harry Potter following the death of Richard Harris. He's won BAFTA TV awards for Perfect Strangers, Longitude, Wives and Daughters, and The Singing Detective.

Career: Annis has worked extensively on the big and small screen, as well as the stage; one of her earliest big screen appearances came courtesy of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role in Carry on Teacher way back in 1959. Her TV credits include the series Lillie, The Gravy Train Goes East, Dalziel and Pascoe, Reckless, Cranford, and Wives and Daughters _ for which she received a Best Actress Bafta nomination. She has featured in films such as Roman Polanski's Macbeth (which featured her reciting the sleepwalking soliloquy in the nude), Dune, Milk, and Revolver. In the theatre, she has gained critical acclaim for productions such as The Vortex, Blood and Shoreditch Madonna.

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: Scum was remade as a movie two years later. Winstone reprised his role, winning huge critical acclaim, before landing a part in the cult Brit flick Quadrophenia. After becoming a well-known name and face, he appeared in numerous TV shows, including Fox, Robin of Sherwood, and The Ghostbusters of East Finchley, but is better known for his often violent or controversial films, such as Nil By Mouth, Face and Sexy Beast. He is currently the face of an advertisement campaign for an on-line betting company, resolutely appearing during live football matches quoting the latest odds. Other projects include Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Departed, Great Expectations, Vincent and the big-screen remake of The Sweeney.

Career: Courtenay's film debut was in 1962 with Private Potter. This was followed by The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Billy Liar, two highly acclaimed films and performances which helped usher in the British New Wave of the early-to-mid 1960s. For these roles Courtenay was awarded the 1962 Bafta for most promising newcomer and the 1963 award for best actor. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1965 for his role as revolutionary leader Pasha Antipov in Doctor Zhivago. Despite being catapulted to fame via the big screen he concentrated on stage work. Both Courtenay and pal Albert Finney received nominations for Best Actor in the 1984 Academy Awards for their roles in The Dresser. He teamed up again with Finney in the acclaimed BBC drama A Rather English Marriage. More recent work includes Last Orders, The Golden Compass, and an appearance in the 2008 Christmas special of The Royle Family.