Trivia: Matheson's mother encouraged him to pursue acting. Made his film debut in Jez Butterworth's Mojo. Matheson can play guitar, violin and harmonica. Film, TV and theatre actor. Notable roles include Sherlock Holmes, The Tudors, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Clash of the Titans and 300: Rise of an Empire.

Trivia: Started her training in ballet, modern dancing and tap dancing when she was 3 years old. Moved to London by herself when she was 16 to pursue a career in singing. Left arts school after a year to compete in the BBC TV show I'd Do Anything, where singers competed for a place in the West End production of Oliver! She finished in third place. Made her West End debut in Les Misérables in 2010. Got the part of Éponine in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables over several others who auditioned, such as Lea Michele, Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift.

Trivia: A member of director Mike Leigh's hardworking repertory cast, British actress Lesley Manville started acting in U.K. television dramas during the early '80s. After her debut feature in 1985 for the crime drama Dance With a Stranger, she found her place in comedy-dramas with Clare Peploe's High Season. The next year, she began her longtime collaboration with Mike Leigh for the comedy High Hopes, followed by Secrets and Lies and Topsy-Turvy. She married actor Gary Oldman and had a son, but the couple divorced soon after they both appeared in the made-for-TV movie The Firm in 1988. She continued to work in British miniseries, TV movies, and short films throughout the '90s, including an appearance as Mrs. Micawber in a TNT version of David Copperfield. Manville finally gained a lead role in Leigh's All or Nothing in 2002, as Penny, a grocery store clerk married to taxi cab driver Phil (frequent Leigh leading man Timothy Spall).

Trivia: As the grizzled warrior Campbell in Braveheart, James Cosmo impressed filmgoers worldwide. His impassioned performance made it seem possible that such a man as Campbell really existed 700 years ago, a man who cared so much about his beloved Scotland that he could endure the bite of an English arrow, break it off, and go on fighting with Achillean fury. But it was not only Cosmo's formidable acting skills -- honed in scores of film and television productions dating back to the '60s -- that animated his performance. It was also his real-life love of Scotland. He believes his native country, small as it is, has a thousand and one other stories to tell just as exciting as Braveheart, and he has enlisted himself as actor, producer, and financier to bring them to the movie screen. For example, he singlehandedly engineered a project to construct Scotland's first film studio on a 40-acre site near Inverness. Both novice and experienced filmmakers will be welcome to reserve any of its sound stages. A nearby William Wallace Theme Park, named after the rebel leader depicted in Braveheart, will present reenactments of Wallace's rebellion against England between 1297 and 1305. Cosmo also was the brainchild of a major film project about Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), a national hero who attracted 30,000 mourners to his funeral. Cosmo selected Edinburgh as the setting, Scottish writer Alan Sharp to pen the script, and Scottish composer Derek William Dick to write an overture. The film, entitled Clarinda, centers on the love affair between Burns and an Edinburgh woman, Agnes Maclehose. Another Scottish writer, the great historical novelist Sir Walter Scott, provided the material for a triumphal Cosmo performance in the TV miniseries Ivanhoe, shown worldwide. Cosmo portrayed Ivanhoe's estranged father, Lord Cedric, with the same fiery spleen of Campbell in Braveheart. However, Cosmo does not perform only in films about the age of the horse and sword. In the critically acclaimed Trainspotting, he played the father of an Edinburgh heroin addict. Cosmo also portrayed a World War II POW in the heralded 2001 film To End All Wars, Mr. Weston in the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version of Jane Austen's Emma, and an oil-rig worker in the 1994 TV series Roughnecks. In addition, he was the voice of Thelonius, an orangutan, in Babe: Pig in the City. Cosmo grew up in Clydebank in west central Scotland, where he received an education in a stalwart brick-and-mortar high school while the smell of the sea invaded classrooms and beckoned aspiring young adventurers to set sail for exotic climes. Clydebank was a shipbuilding city; there, craftsmen puzzled together great Cunard liners, including the Queen Elizabeth II. Although Cosmo did not go to sea, he did set sail for a journey through the world of drama. For his outstanding work onscreen and his charitable work off, he received the lifetime achievement award of the Sunday Mail/McEwan's People's Film Festival.

Trivia: With his gaunt handsomeness and infectious Scottish burr, John Hannah made a memorable impression on audiences on both sides of the Atlantic in his role as Simon Callow's lover in Four Weddings and a Funeral. The popularity of his portrayal was a significant feat for the actor, who, prior to the picture, had only appeared in one small film and numerous television shows in the United Kingdom.Born in 1962 in East Kilbride, a small town near Glasgow, Hannah worked as an electrician for four years before getting into acting. After training at a Glasgow drama school, the actor headed to London to find work. After his 1990 debut in a generally unheard of film called Harbour Beat, Hannah found work on television. After his breakthrough role in 1994's Four Weddings, he was able to do more film work, appearing the following year in three films, Madagascar Skin, The Final Cut, and The Innocent Sleep. After work in a few forgettable pictures and the title role on the British TV series McCallum, Hannah got his next significant role in Peter Howitt's 1998 romantic comedy Sliding Doors. The film was a relative success and Hannah netted praise for his work as Gwyneth Paltrow's love interest. The film paved the way for him to appear in his first Hollywood blockbuster, The Mummy (1999), in which he was cast against type as a ne'er do well English fop. Despite rotten reviews, the film scored massively at the box office, helping to ensure further work for the talented, versatile actor. Over the next several years, Hannah would remain active as an actor, appearing on shows like MDs, New Street Law, Spartacus, Vengeance, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and Damages.

Trivia: Appeared in repertory theatre after graduating from drama school. Played the role of Goneril in a 1997 National Theatre production of King Lear, reprising the role in the BBC adaptation the following year. In 2006, was nominated for the OFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries for her performance in Elizabeth I. Is perhaps best known for playing Mrs Jamieson in period drama Cranford between 2007 and 2009. In 2020, played the role of Councillor Bone in the ITV sitcom Kate & Koji.

Trivia: Is the youngest of 10 children. Suffered from oxygen deprivation at birth, which resulted in learning disabilities. Studied at the Edinburgh Acting School in the 1990s. Previously auditioned on My Kind of People. Sang "Cry Me a River" on a local charity CD in 1999 to commemorate the new millennium. Auditioned for Britain's Got Talent to honour her late mother, who had enjoyed the show and encouraged her to compete. Raised funds for Save The Children by performing a duet with Elvis Presley in 2013. Carried the Queen's Baton for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Became the first British artist to record a virtual duet with the late Nat King Cole on her 2016 album A Wonderful World. Gave up chocolate for Lent in 2016 to raise awareness of the Scottish Catholic Internation Aid Fund's Wee Box appeal.