Trivia: English actress Gemma Arterton rose to fame in her native Britain during the late 2000s, with a series of roles in productions that crossed genre lines. She landed one of her first major assignments as an alluring, mischievous boarding-school student, Kelly, in the 2007 St. Trinian's (an update of Frank Launder's 1953 comedy classic The Belles of St. Trinian's), then signed for a supporting part in the legendary Stephen Poliakoff's made-for-television drama Capturing Mary. Arterton made headlines around the world when cast as Fields, one of the famed Bond girls, in the 22nd installment of the James Bond series, Quantum of Solace. She vaulted into leading roles in big-budget fantasy fare such as Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and scored a major part in Neil Jordan's vampire film Byzantium.

Trivia: Widely considered one of the leading British actors of his generation, Ian McKellen has had a rich and varied career encompassing the stage, screen, and television. A renowned stage actor in his native Britain for decades, McKellen was not familiar to most American audiences until the '90s, when he began popping up in a number of well-received films. One of these, Gods and Monsters, elevated the actor into the international spotlight when he earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Frankenstein director James Whale.Born May 25, 1939, in the northern English mill town of Burnley, McKellen was the son of a civil engineer. Encouraged by his parents, he developed an early fascination with the theatre. This interest continued when his family moved to the mining town of Wigan, where McKellen began acting in school plays. At the age of 13, he performed in his first Shakespeare play, as Malvolio in a production of Twelfth Night. He gained an additional appreciation for Shakespeare during his summer vacations, when he attended camp in Stratford-upon-Avon and spent the evenings watching the likes of Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, John Gielgud, and Paul Robeson give life to the playwright's work.Shakespeare played a continuing role in McKellen's life when he went to Cambridge University, where he was offered a place to study English at Saint Catherine's College. This offer was withdrawn two years later, when McKellen's involvement in theatre almost completely eclipsed his studies. His work in student theatre proved invaluable, however, allowing him to work with Derek Jacobi, David Frost, and Trevor Nunn, with whom he would go on to form a lasting professional relationship. McKellen's acting pursuits were also important for another reason: as he would later explain to numerous interviewers, the theatre introduced him to other gay men, something that eased his acceptance of his own homosexuality. McKellen's identity as a gay man would prove almost as defining a characteristic of his public persona as his identity as an actor: a vocal activist, he became one of a handful of openly gay knights when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1991.After leaving Cambridge in 1961, McKellen began his professional career at Coventry's Belgrave Theatre, where he acted in a production of A Man for All Seasons. Three years later, he was living in London and working steadily on the stage. He acted in countless productions, a number of which he also directed, and co-founded the progressive Actors' Company in 1972. He earned a score of awards and honors for his work and in 1979 was made a Commander of the British Empire. Two years later, he won international theatrical acclaim with his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Salieri in the Broadway production of Amadeus.McKellen made his film debut in 1969 with a small role in The Promise, the same year that he caused a sensation on the stage with his portrayal of Edward II, which required him to kiss another man. It was not until 20 years later that McKellen became recognizable to international film audiences with his starring role as John Profumo in Michael Caton-Jones's Scandal (1989). Somewhat ironically, a year before gaining fame for playing one of the most infamously heterosexual public figures of the 20th century, McKellen came out to the public as a gay man during a BBC radio program. In 1993, he became recognizable to American television audiences playing gay men in And the Band Played On and Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, two acclaimed TV miniseries; McKellen earned an Emmy nomination for his work in the former. In 1996, he earned another Emmy nomination for his supporting role in Rasputin.That same year, the actor gained more visibility on the big screen, appearing in Six Degrees of Separation and The Ballad of Little Jo. He continued to turn in strong performances in such films as Cold Comfort Form (1995) and Jack and Sarah (1995), and he earned particular acclaim for his titular performance in Richard Loncraine's 1996 Richard III, for which he also adapted the screenplay. Following subsequent turns in Bent (1997) and Apt Pupil (1998), McKellen starred in Bill Condon's Gods and Monsters, giving a stunning portrayal of James Whale during the director's last days. His performance won a score of international accolades, including Best Actor Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and Best Actor honors from the National Board of Review.After appearing alongside future Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe in a TV production of David Copperfield in 1999, McKellen stepped into the shoes of the diabolical Magneto in director Bryan Singer's popular comic-book action adventure, X-Men. McKellen stuck with fantasy for his next role as well, this time on a grand scale with his Oscar nominated role as Gandalf the Grey in director Peter Jackson's long-anticipated Lord of the Rings trilogy. Following the massively successful franchise, McKellen would appear in the subsuquent prequel, The Hobbit, as well as films like The Academy and The Da Vinci Code.

Trivia: A quintessentially British actor (with a classic "medieval" look) who made his name with deft portrayals of heroes in fantasy and adventure sagas, Ben Barnes graduated from the King's College School in England and landed one of his earliest assignments in a hybrid of the two said genres -- with a small supporting role playing Young Dunstan in Matthew Vaughn's offbeat Stardust (2007). Barnes then commenced a sequence of film appearances as Prince Caspian in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, adapted from the popular novels by C.S. Lewis; he began, conveniently enough, with the lead in the outing Prince Caspian (2008).

Trivia: First acting experience came from reading a sonnet at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London in 1997. Is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. Reprised his role of Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter video games.. Made his professional stage debut on London's West End in the play Happy New in 2012.

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: Despite a visage and presence that seemed to almost predestine her for movie stardom, fair-haired Romola Garai stumbled into acting almost inadvertently. A performer of Hungarian extraction on both her maternal and paternal sides, she grew up with a banker father and a journalist mother and three brothers and sisters, and lived in Singapore and Hong Kong until the age of eight. Though never consciously nurturing any disciplined aspirations to become a film actress, Garai began to move toward the seventh art in her mid-teens, first by appearing in high school plays, then by joining England's National Youth Theatre. Academically, she enrolled in the City of London School for Girls and (later) London University, as an English major, but a year into her tenure there, a casting director working for producer Su Armstrong and director Gillies MacKinnon noticed her and tapped her for a small role in the bittersweet musical seriocomedy The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, opposite Olympia Dukakis, Judi Dench, and Ian Holm, and Garai's career was secure. She almost immediately snagged an agent, and numerous additional offers began rolling in. Garai's breakthrough arrived in 2003, with a star turn in Tim Fywell's Dodie Smith adaptation I Capture the Castle, for which she did an overwhelming amount of preliminary research and -- uncoincidentally -- earned high praise from critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Work came quickly and furiously at that point; assignments included hotfooting her way through the Dirty Dancing follow-up Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), starring as Amelia Sedley opposite Reese Witherspoon in Mira Nair's Vanity Fair (2004), and -- on a particularly memorable note -- playing the troubled 18-year-old Briony Tallis in the 2007 Best Picture nominee Atonement, opposite bombshell Keira Knightley -- a performer to whom many favorably compared Garai. Over the next several years, Garai would appear in a number of acclaimed mini-series like Emma, The Crimson Petal and the White, and The Hour.

Trivia: As a child, she neglected her schoolwork, but focused intently on drama as she desired to become an actress. Met her husband, director Charles Palmer, on the set of A Dance To The Music Of Time, where she played the role of Jean in 1997. Played Hermione in a theatre production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale in 2001 at the Royal National Theatre in 2001. Attended Shop With The Stars at Fenwick of Bond Street in 2014 to raise funds and awareness for the charity Acting For Others.

Trivia: His father was a colonel in the army and a diplomat. Moved from England to Australia when he was 6 months old. Best known for his role on the Australian television series Home and Away. Frequently selected to serve as the entertainment industry's Australia Day Ambassador. Taught acting at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney and at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

Trivia: Made his television debut in the 1991 sitcom Taking the Floor, playing Brian Wheeler. Appeared in 1992 Oscar-Winning biopic Chaplin as Stan Laurel. Between 2013 and 2016, appeared as Dave in BBC sitcom Citizen Khan. As of 2020, has starred as Prince Edward in satirical Channel 4 sitcom The Windsors since its 2016 debut. Played the role of Maitland in a 2018 Chichester Festival Theatre production of Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden.