The actor has appeared in more than 100 movies since his big break in Spike Lee's 1991 movie Jungle Fever, and his hard work has paid off - he is the highest-grossing actor of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Thanks to hits such as Jurassic Park ($914 million/£571 million), Pulp Fiction ($212 million/£132 million) and the Star Wars prequels ($2.4 billion), Jackson is top of the Hollywood pile, with his films outstripping the competition at the box office.

He has averaged four films a year over the last 20 years, making six in 2010, four in 2011 and signing up for three next year (12).