James Lew

Acting

Born September 6, 1952 Escalon, California, USA

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).

Movies(84)

Made in Chinatown

Lew

2021

Henchman: The Al Leong Story

Self

2018

Cucuy: The Boogeyman

Beat Cop

2018

Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine

Sinjin

2017

Breakout

Cap Ruch

2016

Black Salt

Abbot Xiao

2015

Frankenstein

Hotel Manager

2015

Elwood

Big O

2014

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Chinese Leader

2013

The Girl from the Naked Eye

Eddie

2012

Safe

Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)

2012

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth

Shang Tsung (uncredited)

2010

Ballistica

Chinese Guard #1

2009

Angel of Death

Tommy

2009

Star Trek

Romulan (uncredited)

2009

Tropic Thunder

Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)

2008

Superhero Movie

Shaolin Monk (uncredited)

2008

Rush Hour 3

Triad Assassin (uncredited)

2007

The Circuit III: Street Monk

Spider Webb

2006

18 Fingers of Death!

Buford Lee

2006

Shira: The Vampire Samurai

2005

Sin

Leo Thamaree

2003

The Real Deal

Black Belt

2002

Outside the Law

Cho Sung

2002

Ultimate Fights from the Movies

Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)

2002

Rush Hour 2

Triad Gangster (uncredited)

2001

Traffic

DEA Agent - CalTrans

2000

Deep Core

Lou Chang

2000

Fatal Blade

James

2000

Rush Hour

Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)

1998

Lethal Weapon 4

Freighter's Captain

1998

Safe House

Asian (uncredited)

1998

Boogie Boy

Jason

1998

The Replacement Killers

Bodyguard

1998

High Voltage

Harry

1997

Assault on Dome 4

Quaid, Windham Henchman

1996

Robo Warriors

Darius

1996

Escape from L.A.

Hershe Gang Member

1996

Balance of Power

Shinji Takamura

1996

Night Hunter

Tom Cutter

1996

For Life or Death

Kaan Woo

1996

Excessive Force II: Force on Force

Lee

1995

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

Mercenary (uncredited)

1995

Midnight Man

Prince Samarki

1995

Ballistic

Woo

1995

Tough and Deadly

Thug

1995

Cage II: The Arena of Death

Chin

1994

Timecop

Knife #1

1994

Red Sun Rising

Jaho

1994

The Shadow

Mongol

1994

Ring of Steel

Asian Fighter

1994

On Deadly Ground

Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)

1994

Deadly Target

Guard #2 (uncredited)

1994

Private Wars

Obata

1993

Showdown

Hit Man

1993

Undercover Blues

Novacek's Man

1993

Hot Shots! Part Deux

Kick Boxer Opponent

1993

American Ninja 5

Viper

1993

Ulterior Motives

Yakuza #5

1993

Mission of Justice

Akiro

1992

Rapid Fire

Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)

1992

Raven: Return of the Black Dragons

Black Dragon Henchman

1992

Martial Law II: Undercover

Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)

1991

Showdown in Little Tokyo

Yoshida's Man (uncredited)

1991

Do or Die

Lew

1991

Night of the Warrior

Hector Sabatei

1991

The Perfect Weapon

Crewcut

1991

Guns

Ninja #1

1990

Aftershock

Mr. James

1990

Martial Law

Tong Member

1990

Best of the Best

Sae Jin Kwon

1989

Savage Beach

Agent #1

1989

Ninja Academy

Ninja Trainer

1989

Evil Destroyer

1988

Action Jackson

Martial Arts Instructor

1988

Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer

1988

Big Trouble in Little China

Chang Sing #1

1986

Los Angeles Streetfighter

Chan

1985

Killpoint

Nighthawk's Gunman #1

1984

Going Berserk

Kung Fu Fighter

1983

Young Dragon

Shao Lung

1979

Big Time

Karate Instructor

1977

Enforcer from Death Row

Karate Fighter

1976

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Guard (uncredited)

1976

James Lew

TV Shows(23)

Movies(84)