Humphrey Bogart before filming Casablanca had already been a Hollywood star. Appearing in ‘High Sierra’ in 1940 and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ in 1941 he was already a recognisable actor for his stern, brutish nature on screen. Being paid $550 a week during filming, he would later sign a 15-year contract with them in 1946.

Paul Henreid was another star made famous before Casablanca, being in films such as ‘Goodbye, Mr Chips’ in 1939 and ‘Now, Voyager’ in 1942. Henreid signed a contract with Warner Bros for 75,000 dollars in 1942. Known for his sympathetic roles he was mainly portrayed as a charming lover similar on screen to Ryan Gosling today.

Ingrid Bergman had been in a fair few films prior to Casablanca, these include ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ in 1941 and ‘A Woman’s Face’ in 1938. Usually portrayed as the love interest in Romantic Dramas.

Conrad Veidt, famous for his silent films such as ‘The Man Who Laughs’ in 1928, which would later go on to inspire the DC character ‘Joker’. Often playing the villain, this can be seen in Casablanca where due to being part German it landed him the role of playing the Nazi Major Heinrich Strasser. For Casablanca, Warner Bros had borrowed him from M-G-M for 25,000 dollars.

Peter Lorre, who had already worked with Bogart on ‘The Maltese Falcon’ and famous for the Weimar era film ‘M’ which released in 1931. Due to his Jewish descent, he escaped Germany and moved to the US and began a career in Hollywood. After Casablanca in 1943, Lorre had signed a 5-year contract with Warner Bros. Usually playing a anti-hero role his most known role was in ‘M’ when he portrayed a child-killer and the Bond villain in the TV version of Casino Royale in 1954.