Hollywood Royalty

CRUZ:Pedro Almodovar's "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" I was 13 when I saw that movie. I came out of the theater completely fascinated. I started to become obsessed with Pedro, and I decided then to become an actress.

BLANCHETT: The only role I wanted to play was Lucy in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." I also wanted to be Gregory Peck.

PITT: I remember sneaking into "Saturday Night Fever," and it had a profound effect on me. [ Laughter ]

MIRREN: The first movie that caught my imagination was "L'Avventura," by Antonioni. Until then I had seen only Rock Hudson/Doris Daymovies, and I wasn't into them very much.

WHITAKER: When I was a kid there weren't a lot of black actors working in films, so acting didn't seem like a possibility. The first actor I remember being struck by was Sidney Poitier.

DICAPRIO: I tried to get an agent when I was around 7. I was a break-dancer and had a mohawk, and I was rejected. I knew I wanted to be an actor, but it wasn't until "This Boy's Life," when Iówas 16, that I started to research quality films. I remember watching James Dean in "East of Eden." I said to myself, "Wow, I didn't know it was possible to give a performance this good."