Despite having all the necessary tools to become a star – looks, talent, presence – actor Christian Bale lacked one necessary ingredient at the start of his career: tolerance for being in the spotlight. After achieving instant celebrity after being tapped by Steven Spielberg to star in his epic period film, “Empire of the Sun” (1987), Bale suddenly discovered that he hated dealing with publicity. Instead of faking his way through interviews and junkets, he mentally bailed out, sometimes sitting through an entire session without answering, and occasionally flat out refusing to participate. But as he got older, he realized that the publicity aspect of acting was vital to his success, so he grew more and more comfortable with every new career landmark – “Little Women” (1994), “American Psycho” (2000) and “Batman Begins” (2005), chief among them.

 Welsh-born actress Catherine Zeta-Jones first captivated U.S. film audiences with her swashbuckling turn in “The Mask of Zorro” (1998) – leaving moviegoers so mesmerized by her ebony-tressed old Hollywoodesque beauty, it was a wonder she was able to move beyond all the comparisons to Ava Gardner and Vivien Leigh – enough to garner respect as a serious actress. It was her impressive turn in “Traffic” (2000) and Oscar-winning scenery-chewing for her musical showstoppers in “Chicago” (2002) which firmly established her as a Hollywood A-lister. That, and a fairytale-likened marriage to one of the industry’s most respected actors-producers, Michael Douglas; thusly, entry into one of Hollywood’s most famous and respected families.