James Lew
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
Frasier
Security Guard
Murder, She Wrote
Cambodian
CSI: Miami
ND Man #1
Babylon 5
Bloodhound Teep
MacGyver
Asian Thug
Chuck
Anad Chenerad
Family Matters
Man in Bar
Entourage
Strong Medicine
Cop
Walker, Texas Ranger
Tiger
Power Rangers
Warrior
T. J. Hooker
Asian Thug
T. J. Hooker
Ton Li
Childrens Hospital
Mosura
Growing Pains
Movie Villain #2
I'm Dying Up Here
Sensei Phil
Weird Science
Nowhere Man
Thug with knife
Roseanne
Rush Hour
Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
Death Valley
Man on street (uncredited)
Nasty Boys
Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited)
Rush Hour 2
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
Alias
Quan Li
Rush Hour 3
Triad Assassin (uncredited)
Star Trek
Romulan (uncredited)
Eve
Tropic Thunder
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
Marker
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Chinese Leader
Big Trouble in Little China
Chang Sing #1
Safe
Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
Traffic
DEA Agent - CalTrans
Superhero Movie
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Kick Boxer Opponent
Lethal Weapon 4
Freighter's Captain
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Mercenary (uncredited)
Escape from L.A.
Hershe Gang Member
The Shadow
Mongol
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
Timecop
Knife #1
On Deadly Ground
Mercenary at Aegis 1 (uncredited)
Best of the Best
Sae Jin Kwon
Beauty and the Beast
The Replacement Killers
Bodyguard
Savage Beach
Agent #1
Action Jackson
Martial Arts Instructor
Do or Die
Lew
Guns
Ninja #1
Rapid Fire
Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
Made in Chinatown
Lew
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Guard (uncredited)
High Voltage
Harry
Enforcer from Death Row
Karate Fighter
The Perfect Weapon
Crewcut
Night Hunter
Tom Cutter
The Girl from the Naked Eye
Eddie
Mission of Justice
Akiro
Killpoint
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Martial Law
Tong Member
Martial Law II: Undercover
Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
Frankenstein
Hotel Manager
Undercover Blues
Novacek's Man
Boogie Boy
Jason
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Lee
American Ninja 5
Viper
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Beat Cop
Tough and Deadly
Thug
Deep Core
Lou Chang
Angel of Death
Tommy
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Black Dragon Henchman
Deadly Target
Guard #2 (uncredited)
Ballistic
Woo
Ninja Academy
Ninja Trainer
Going Berserk
Kung Fu Fighter
Ballistica
Chinese Guard #1
Sin
Leo Thamaree
Showdown
Hit Man
Assault on Dome 4
Quaid, Windham Henchman
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
Sinjin
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Self
Aftershock
Mr. James
Outside the Law
Cho Sung
Midnight Man
Prince Samarki
Ring of Steel
Asian Fighter
Red Sun Rising
Jaho
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Chan
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Chin
Night of the Warrior
Hector Sabatei
The Real Deal
Black Belt
The Circuit III: Street Monk
Spider Webb
Gedo
James
Safe House
Asian (uncredited)
Private Wars
Obata
Elwood
Big O
Robo Warriors
Darius
18 Fingers of Death!
Buford Lee
Balance of Power
Shinji Takamura
Ulterior Motives
Yakuza #5
For Life or Death
Kaan Woo
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Xu
Young Dragon
Shao Lung
Big Time
Karate Instructor
Breakout
Cap Ruch
Black Salt
Abbot Xiao