Trivia: Since performing in a play at the City of Leicester Boys School, Michael Kitchen has done practically all there is for an actor to do: motion pictures, TV films, TV miniseries, stage plays, radio plays, and audio cassettes. International film audiences probably know him best as Chief of Staff Bill Tanner in the Pierce Brosnan James Bond productions, although he has played major roles in other high-profile movies, such as Out of Africa (1985) and Mrs. Dalloway (1997). He is also well known to worldwide TV audiences for major roles in popular miniseries, including The Brontes of Haworth (1973), A Fall of Eagles (1974), Freud (1984), and Oliver Twist (1999). 2000 was a remarkable year for Kitchen -- incredibly, he completed the following productions during that year: Proof of Life, a major film in which he shared the screen with Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan; Lorna Doone, a three-hour TV miniseries; Always and Everyone, an eight-hour TV series resembling America's ER; The Secret World of Michael Fry, a TV miniseries; The Railway Children, a TV film shown in the U.K. and in the U.S. on Masterpiece Theatre; New Year's Day, a major motion picture; and Second Sight: Parasomnia, another TV film. For an encore in 2001, he played the title role in Foyle's War, an eight-hour TV series about a World War II-era detective, then played Foyle again in another eight-hour series in 2002. He also signed on for another James Bond film, his third. Between 1971 -- when he appeared in the film Unman, Wittering and Zigo -- and the present, Kitchen has never wanted for work. The reason, quite simply, is that he is one of Britain's finest and most versatile actors. He has walked across the stages of the most prestigious playhouses in England, performing the works of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and other important playwrights. In motion pictures, he has also acted parts in productions based on the works of Franz Kafka (The Trial, 1993), Robert Louis Stevenson (Kidnapped, 1995), John Le Carre (The Russia House, 1990), and Nevil Shute (Crossing to Freedom, 1990).

Trivia: Studied architecture at Manchester University before applying to drama school. Performed in the year-long international tour of Geometry of Miracles. Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2000, performing in As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors. Played Paul Milner in Foyle's War from 2002 to 2010. In 2006, starred as Charles in the first stage adaptation of The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Trivia: An esteemed actress, known both for her portrayals of flinty, dry-witted women and her real-life role as the mother of actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson, Phyllida Law has been acting in her native Britain for over 40 years. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1932 and married to fellow actor Eric Thompson until his death in 1982, Law has spent much of her career working as a character actress both on television and in film. She has done particularly notable work in Douglas McGrath's 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, which cast her as the meddlesome Mrs. Bates (and daughter Sophie Thompson as her equally meddlesome daughter Miss Bates); Alan Rickman's acclaimed drama The Winter Guest, in which she and daughter Emma starred as an estranged mother and daughter; and Nigel Cole's Saving Grace (2000), a comedy in which she portrayed the busybody neighbor of a woman (Brenda Blethyn) who has taken to growing pot in her backyard. An accomplished performer on stage, screen, and even radio plays, Law also authored books in which she discussed her experiences caring for her mother, who suffered from dementia, with refreshing, light hearted humor and wit.

Trivia: Gangling Scottish character actor Graham Crowden seemed born to play over-sanctimonious priests, looney scientists and cadaverous undertakers. Following Shakespearean stage work, Crowden made his film bow in 1961's Why Bother to Knock? He became a favorite of film director Lindsay Anderson, who showed Crowden to excellent if bizarre advantage in such films as If (1969), O' Lucky Man! (1973) (in several roles) and Brittania Hospital (1982). Among Graham Crowden's non-Lindsay Anderson films were The Ruling Class (1973), The Little Prince (1974), Jabberwocky (1981), For Your Eyes Only (1982) and The Company of Wolves (1984).

Trivia: Lived in the Middle East during the first 10 years of her life, and later settled in Loughton, Essex, England.Joined the Epping Youth Theatre when she was in school.Attended Epping Forest College in Loughton, England.A teacher encouraged her to try drama school after watching her performance in a school production of Chicago.Won the role of Jenny in the television series London's Burning after she was talent-spotted while performing a play at the Latchmere Pub Theatre.Was originally contracted to play the role of Hester Wallace in Enigma (2001), but the role was given to actress Kate Winslet who initially turned down the role but later changed her decision.

Trivia: Born in Sudan to English parents and lived in Israel as a child due to his father's position as a bank manager. Found an affinity for performing at the age of 6 while reciting A.A. Milne poems to his family. Earned a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Was a member of the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. Made his Broadway debut as Henry Straker in Man and Superman at Circle in the Square Theatre in 1978. Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the early 1980s. Starred as Inspector Goole in the 1994 Broadway production of Stephen Daldry's An Inspector Calls. Played the role of Lord Burleigh in Mary Stuart on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre in 2009.

Trivia: A lead actor, Birdsall has been onscreen since the late '80s.