Setting the World on Fire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Julia Roberts

"Firehouse" (1987) is perhaps most notable for marking the film debut of American actress Julia Roberts, in which she had an uncredited role. Two years later she gained her first notable award for her role as Shelby Eatenton Latcherie in "Steel Magnolias" (1989). "Pretty Woman" (1990) was the film that made her a Hollywood star.

Answer: Kurt Russell

His "Overboard" (1987) co-star and long-term partner was Goldie Hawn. "Backdraft" (1991) was Kurt Russell's firefighting film and received three Oscar nominations. Russell is one of the few child film stars to have been successful in the transition to an adult actor. Much of his childhood work was in television.

Answer: Robert de Niro

De Niro was born in 1943 and has acted in more than 90 films, as well as being producer in over 20 films. He won Oscars for his parts in "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and "Raging Bull" (1980). The movie with the firefighting link was "15 Minutes" (2001), said to be a reference to the Andy Warhol '15 minutes of fame' quote.

In the film, Edward Burns is the firefighter, playing a fire marshal investigating arson who teams up with de Niro's detective character on the trail of a couple of East European criminals.

Answer: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger first came to prominence as a body builder. He has been politically active for many years and was first elected Governor of California in 2003. He was nicknamed the 'Governator' as a result of this and his part in the "Terminator" film franchise.

"Collateral Damage" (2002), the movie with the firefighting connection, is a mostly about Schwarzenegger seeking revenge on a Colombian guerrilla after his family was killed (as collateral damage) during a bombing. His character was a Los Angeles firefighter.

Answer: Julie Christie

Born in India on a tea plantation during the 1940s, she got her breakthrough role in 1963 with "Billy Liar". She won an Oscar for her part in "Darling" (1965) but is possibly best known for her role as Lara Antipova in "Doctor Zhivago" (1965). More recently she received critical acclaim for her role in "Away from Her" (2006).

However she was reported by WENN in 2002 as turning down most acting roles because of a form of memory loss, which made learning lines extremely challenging. "Fahrenheit 451" (1966), the film version of Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel of the same name, was the firefighting connection.

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin came to prominence during the silent era of film. In most films he wrote the script and the music, produced and directed the film as well as acted in it. He also co-founded the original United Artists in order to control the distribution of his films. The silent era lasted until around 1929, however it was a number of years after that before Chaplin produced a 'talkie'.

His political views and his personal life started to cause troubles for him. "The Great Dictator" (1940), a satirical attack on Adolf Hitler and fascism, whilst financially very successful, perhaps marks the change in his popularity. A series of FBI-inspired court cases and bad publicity followed, which eventually saw him leave USA for Europe.

His firefighting film was "The Fireman" (1916).

Answer: John Wayne

Over a 50-year period John Wayne appeared in more than 170 movies with a large percentage of those being Westerns. His Oscar came for his performance in "True Grit" (1969). In his last film "The Shootist" (1976), he played a gunfighter dying of cancer. He was to die of stomach cancer three years later.

The firefighting film was "Hellfighters" (1968) in which he played an oil well firefighter.

Answer: Paul Newman

His acting career took off during the 1950s after his role opposite Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) earned him his first Oscar nomination. In fact he was nominated nine times, winning his Best Actor Oscar for "The Color of Money" (1986). Training for his role in "Winning" (1969) saw him develop a passion for motor sports and he achieved success both as a driver and through his professional auto racing team.

He also had his own brand of food products, donating all post-tax profits, amounting to several hundred million dollars, to charity.

He played architect to Steve McQueen's fire hat in "The Towering Inferno" (1974). The most unusual aspect of the film perhaps was the sharing of top billing between Newman and McQueen - they earned the same money, had the same number of lines and the diagonal credits were intended to show them both as having top billing, depending on which way the credits were read (left to right or top to bottom).

Answer: Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah's first noteworthy role was in the 1982 science fiction thriller "Blade Runner", and her appearance as Elle Driver in the "Kill Bill, Volumes 1 and 2" (2003/2004) earned her some awards. She has also appeared in her share of romantic comedies including the one with the firefighting connection, namely "Roxanne" (1987). Steve Martin played the fire chief with the long nose in this film, which was an adaptation of the 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac". The play is said to be responsible for introducing the word 'panache' to the English language.

Answer: John Travolta

As well as acting, John Travolta's talents include dancing, singing and flying his own Boeing 707. Films with at least one Travolta dance include "Saturday Night Fever" (1977), "Grease" (1978), "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "Hairspray" (2007). In the latter he dresses in drag to play his character. "Ladder 49" (2004) was not one of those in which he dances, however this movie provides the final firefighting link in this quiz.