Career: Everett made his TV debut in The Manhood of Edward Robinson; his first film role came a year later in A Shocking Accident. Following the success of Another Country (both on stage and on film) and Dance with a Stranger in the 1980s, Everett took the potentially risky decision to openly declare his homosexuality. He enjoyed a successful stint as a model and published two novels before playing Julia Roberts' gay confidant in 1997's My Best Friend's Wedding, which helped revitalise his career. Since then he's appeared in such movies as Shakespeare in Love, An Ideal Husband, Stardust, St Trinians and Wild Target.

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: O'Connor's other film credits include Thank God He Met Lizzy (1997), Mansfield Park (1999), Bedazzled (2000) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Work on the small screen includes roles in Blue Heelers, Madame Bovary and Vegas. In 2013, she began playing Rose Selfridge in ITV drama Mr Selfridge.

Career: A series of TV roles, including Diane Keaton's Wildflower and miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove, got Witherspoon noticed. After several unremarkable movie projects, she starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in commercial success Fear in 1996, winning an army of young fans. A string of hits soon followed, including Freeway, Pleasantville, Cruel Intentions, Election, American Psycho and Legally Blonde, establishing her as a major Hollywood star and prompting her to set up production company Type A Films. Movies since include The Importance of Being Earnest, Sweet Home Alabama, and Legally Blonde 2. She wowed critics with a breathtaking performance in Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, for which she landed an Academy Award. Her recent films include Penelope, Four Christmases, How Do You Know, Water for Elephants and This Means War.

Career: Dench made her professional debut with the Old Vic Company before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961, and has frequently worked on stage ever since. She became a household name in the 1980s thanks to sitcom A Fine Romance, for which she won a Bafta. She's also won the award for Four in the Morning, Talking to a Stranger, Iris, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Shakespeare In Love (for which she picked up an Oscar too), A Handful of Dust, Mrs Brown and A Room With a View. Other notable productions include Chocolat, Notes on a Scandal, J Edgar, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, and several Bond movies, including Skyfall, in which she bowed out as M.

Career: Wilkinson made his TV debut in the mid-1970s, and went on to appear in programmes including First Among Equals and A Pocket Full of Rye. However, it was his role as Mr Pecksniff in the BBC's 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit that really put the actor on the map. Three years later Tom won a Bafta for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in The Full Monty, and the 1990s also saw him appear in such notable films as Shakespeare in Love, In the Name of the Father and Wilde. More recently, he played the gangster Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins, gained great critical acclaim for In the Bedroom, starred alongside George Clooney in Michael Clayton and played German army officer Friedrich Fromm in Valkyrie. He won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin in the miniseries John Adams. His recent work on the big screen includes roles in The Ghost, Burke and Hare, The Green Hornet and The Conspirator.

Career: Massey's first roles came on the stage in the early 1950s. Her film debut was in Ford's Gideon's Way in 1958. Among her most famous movies were Peeping Tom, Frenzy, The Vault of Horror, Another Country, The Tall Guy and The Importance of Being Earnest. She won a Bafta for her role in 1986 TV movie Hotel du Lac. Other small-screen credits include Tales of the Unexpected, A Tale of Two Cities and He Knew He Was Right. She died on July 3, 2011, at the age of 73.

Career: Fox was an extra in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (which featured his brother James), and had a bigger role in 1963's This Sporting Life, the same year he made his TV debut in Suspense. He quickly became famous in the UK thanks to Edward & Mrs Simpson, The Jokers, The Portrait of a Lady, Oh! What a Lovely War, and The Go-Between, but it was The Day of the Jackal in 1973 which brought him international acclaim. Since then, Fox has appeared in A Bridge Too Far, The Duellists, Gandhi, Never Say Never Again, A Passage to India, Lost in Space, Stage Beauty and Oliver Twist. He continues to act on stage.