James Lew
Biography
James Jene Fae Lew (born September 6, 1952) is an American actor and martial artist. Raised in South Central Los Angeles, James Lew's destiny was to answer a cattle call in Hollywood for the hugely popular Kung Fu (1972) television series. He went on to star in the now collectible Hong Kong film, Young Dragon (1976). He made the move to big budget studio films in 1984. John Carpenter handpicked him as the Martial Arts Choreographer for 20th Century Fox's now cult film, Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Gibson, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, David Carradine, Chuck Norris, Dennis Quaid, Kurt Russell, Madonna, Charlie Sheen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kathleen Turner, Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Lee, Snoop Dogg and the list goes on and on. James was voted "Favorite Action Star" by fans of Inside Martial Arts magazine. Internet fans voted him into the Hall of Fame in the Martial Arts History Museum. Inside Kung Fu Magazine inducted him as one of the "Martial Arts Greats" alongside legends as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and his longtime friend Jackie Chan. Hit Parader Magazine dubbed him "the king of big-screen martial arts villains." From the deadly killer in Red Sun Rising (1994) to the deadly fighter in the comedy spoof Hot Shots 2 (1993), Lew has proven his chops in both drama and comedy. As a stunt/fight coordinator his creative talents shone in the television series The Crow to recent work on the hit video game, The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005). He handpicked elite members for his company, "Hong Kong Wire Action Team," to bring state of the art action to movies. His formula for longevity in the film industry is diversity, hard work and having a whole lot of fun. Most recently, James Lew wrote, directed and starred in a movie inspired by his personal experiences in the business titled 18 Fingers of Death! (2006). The story follows Buford Lee (James Lew), the most famous unknown "B"-minus, low-budget, martial-arts movie star and Ronald Mack (Maurice Patton), a young black kid from the hood. Together they laugh and bond together on their quest to finally make Buford's break out movie, 18 Fingers of Death! (2006).
Known For
Hershe Gang Member
Escape from L.A.
Tommy
Angel of Death
Tom Cutter
Night Hunter
Viper
American Ninja 5
Lew
Do or Die
Darius
Robo Warriors
Agent #1
Savage Beach
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Asian (uncredited)
Safe House
Eddie
The Girl from the Naked Eye
Chan
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Hit Man
Showdown
Obata
Private Wars
Mr. James
Aftershock
Prince Samarki
Midnight Man
Harry
High Voltage
Sae Jin Kwon
Best of the Best
Spider Webb
The Circuit III: Street Monk
Kung Fu Fighter
Going Berserk
Karate Instructor
Big Time
Black Belt
The Real Deal
Shinji Takamura
Balance of Power
Cap Ruch
Breakout
Crewcut
The Perfect Weapon
Self
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Abbot Xiao
Black Salt
Lou Chang
Deep Core
Chang Sing #1
Big Trouble in Little China
Jason
Boogie Boy
Hector Sabatei
Night of the Warrior
Sinjin
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
James
Gedo
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
Tropic Thunder
Lee
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Chin
Cage II
Ninja Trainer
Ninja Academy
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Killpoint
Leo Thamaree
Sin
勇者無懼
Xu
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
Rush Hour
Knife #1
Timecop
Lew
Made in Chinatown
Beat Cop
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Kick Boxer Opponent
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Ninja #1
Guns
Chinese Leader
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Jaho
Red Sun Rising
Akiro
Mission of Justice
Kaan Woo
For Life or Death
Hotel Manager
Frankenstein
Freighter's Captain
Lethal Weapon 4
Quaid, Windham Henchman
Assault on Dome 4
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
Superhero Movie
Cho Sung
Outside the Law
Karate Fighter
Enforcer from Death Row
Romulan (uncredited)
Star Trek
Novacek's Man
Undercover Blues
Mongol
The Shadow
DEA Agent - CalTrans
Traffic
Guard (uncredited)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Yakuza #5
Ulterior Motives
Guard #2 (uncredited)
Deadly Target
Mercenary (uncredited)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
Rapid Fire
Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)
On Deadly Ground
Buford Lee
18 Fingers of Death!
Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
Safe
Tong Member
Martial Law
Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
Martial Law II: Undercover
Chinese Guard #1
Ballistica
Black Dragon Henchman
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Shao Lung
Young Dragon
Bodyguard
The Replacement Killers
Woo
Ballistic
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
Rush Hour 2
Martial Arts Instructor
Action Jackson
Triad Assassin (uncredited)
Rush Hour 3
Evil Destroyer
Big O
Elwood
Thug
Tough and Deadly
Asian Fighter
Ring of Steel
Shang Tsung (uncredited)
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
84
Gender
Male
Birthday
1952-09-06
Place of Birth
Escalon, California, USA
Also Known As
James Jene Fae Lew