A two-page spread in Monday's New York Times reads like a who's who of Hollywood: John Cusack, Susan Sarandon, Martin Sheen and Lord of the Rings' Viggo Mortensen -- and the list goes on. The actors are among the 45,000 people who've signed the "Not In Our Name" petition, urging U.S. President George Bush to back away from his plans for a war in Iraq.

The stars are part of a gathering momentum of high-profile figures who are mobilizing around the world as part of the anti-war movement.

In Australia, hours before UN weapons inspectors outlined Iraq's compliance (or lack thereof) with Resolution 1441 Monday, Oscar nominee Toni Colette and Golden Globe winner Judy Davis gathered outside John Howard's residence. They tried to present the Australian prime minister with a U.S. citizenship application form for his support of a possible U.S.-led attack.

Earlier this month, when tens of thousands of protesters converged on Washington as part of a day of international protests, actors Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly were among those behind the bullhorn. And in December, more than 100 entertainers, including Academy Awards winners Kim Basinger, Helen Hunt and Matt Damon, sent Bush a letter which warning of the domestic consequences of war.

The message was loud and clear -- speaking out against invading Iraq is today's cause celebre.

"The 'Not in Our Name' movement has certainly struck a chord in our country ... among artists and intellectuals who share a real concern about the injustices and the horrors that are about to be perpetrated by our government supposedly for our welfare benefit and security," says Miles Solay. The 21-year-old activist is a spokesperson and youth organizer for the anti-war group, which formed last year.

Speaking alongside author Malachy McCourt outside the United Nations headquarters in New York Monday, Solay rejected the notion that the dozens of celebrities who've become increasingly vocal on the issue are "just lending their fame." Rather he says "there's a growing movement of people who think this war is profoundly unjust, immoral -- and we want the people in Canada and the Middle East and around the world to know we do not support this war."

Of course, celebrity activism is nothing new -- the anti-war movement in the 1970s saw a wide array of musicians and actors like Jane Fonda famously denounce the Vietnam War, and people like U2's Bono, Richard Gere and others have worked against hunger and AIDS in Africa and Asia. But it's rare to see so much star power shining on a single issue.

In some cases, the support for the anti-war movement isn't in name only -- actor Sean Penn made headlines and a few punch lines when he visited Baghdad on a recent "fact-finding mission," where he met with top Iraqi official Tariq Aziz and visited various sites. Of course, Penn hasn't said what "smoking guns" he thought he'd be able to find as an actor that United Nations weapons inspectors have yet to unearth.

George Clooney, who has also spoken out against war, is willing to admit that his opinions are no more informed than the average American's.

"I'm not the person to be sending messages to -- I'm not smart enough and I don't know enough about what's going on," Clooney said last week, when asked by Canada AM's Seamus O'Regan what he'd like to say to Canadians about his stance on a war. "I just want it to be talked about and discussed a lot more before one man makes a decision to go in and bomb."

But he adds: "I'm not holding press conferences, I'm just answering questions about policies I'm concerned with."

Either way people seem to be listening. Last week, a poll by ABC News and The Washington Post found that a majority of Americans (54 per cent) support taking military action against Iraq -- but those numbers are down from 61 per cent in December.

Though it's unclear how, if at all, high-profile attention has played into that drop, as with fashion trends, famous people are bound to influence public perceptions to some degree.