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James Lew

Acting 73 years old Escalon, California, USA ★ 0.7
Born: September 6, 1952

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).

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

Rush Hour
Rush Hour Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited) 1998
Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2 Triad Gangster (uncredited) 2001
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
G.I. Joe: Retaliation Chinese Leader 2013
Star Trek
Star Trek Romulan (uncredited) 2009
Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3 Triad Assassin (uncredited) 2007

Filmography

Acting Credits (110)

Made in Chinatown
Made in Chinatown Lew 2021
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Henchman: The Al Leong Story Self 2018
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Cucuy: The Boogeyman Beat Cop 2018
I'm Dying Up Here
I'm Dying Up Here Sensei Phil 2017
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine Sinjin 2017
Breakout
Breakout Cap Ruch 2016
Black Salt
Black Salt Abbot Xiao 2015
Frankenstein
Frankenstein Hotel Manager 2015
Elwood
Elwood Big O 2014
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
G.I. Joe: Retaliation Chinese Leader 2013
The Girl from the Naked Eye
The Girl from the Naked Eye Eddie 2012
Safe
Safe Underground Casino Guard (uncredited) 2012
Death Valley
Death Valley Man on street (uncredited) 2011
Let Lorenzo
Let Lorenzo Interior Design Older Partner 2011
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth Shang Tsung (uncredited) 2010
Ballistica
Ballistica Chinese Guard #1 2009
Angel of Death
Angel of Death Tommy 2009
Star Trek
Star Trek Romulan (uncredited) 2009
Childrens Hospital
Childrens Hospital Mosura 2008
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited) 2008
Superhero Movie
Superhero Movie Shaolin Monk (uncredited) 2008
Chuck
Chuck Anad Chenerad 2007
Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3 Triad Assassin (uncredited) 2007
The Circuit III: Street Monk
The Circuit III: Street Monk Spider Webb 2006
18 Fingers of Death!
18 Fingers of Death! Buford Lee 2006
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Shira: The Vampire Samurai Xu 2005
Entourage
Entourage 2004
Eve
Eve 2003
Sin
Sin Leo Thamaree 2003
The Real Deal
The Real Deal Black Belt 2002
Sting of the Black Scorpion
Sting of the Black Scorpion Tong Leader 2002
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami ND Man #1 2002
Outside the Law
Outside the Law Cho Sung 2002
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Ultimate Fights from the Movies Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage) 2002
Alias
Alias Quan Li 2001
Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2 Triad Gangster (uncredited) 2001
Traffic
Traffic DEA Agent - CalTrans 2000
Strong Medicine
Strong Medicine Cop 2000
Deep Core
Deep Core Lou Chang 2000
Fatal Blade
Fatal Blade James 2000
Rush Hour
Rush Hour Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited) 1998
Lethal Weapon 4
Lethal Weapon 4 Freighter's Captain 1998
Safe House
Safe House Asian (uncredited) 1998
Boogie Boy
Boogie Boy Jason 1998
The Replacement Killers
The Replacement Killers Bodyguard 1998
High Voltage
High Voltage Harry 1997
Assault on Dome 4
Assault on Dome 4 Quaid, Windham Henchman 1996
Robo Warriors
Robo Warriors Darius 1996
Escape from L.A.
Escape from L.A. Hershe Gang Member 1996
Balance of Power
Balance of Power Shinji Takamura 1996
Night Hunter
Night Hunter Tom Cutter 1996
For Life or Death
For Life or Death Kaan Woo 1996
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Excessive Force II: Force on Force Lee 1995
Nowhere Man
Nowhere Man Thug with Knife 1995
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Mercenary (uncredited) 1995
Midnight Man
Midnight Man Prince Samarki 1995
Ballistic
Ballistic Woo 1995
Tough and Deadly
Tough and Deadly Thug 1995
Marker
Marker 1995
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Cage II: The Arena of Death Chin 1994
Timecop
Timecop Knife #1 1994
Red Sun Rising
Red Sun Rising Jaho 1994
The Shadow
The Shadow Mongol 1994
Ring of Steel
Ring of Steel Asian Fighter 1994
Weird Science
Weird Science 1994
On Deadly Ground
On Deadly Ground Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited) 1994
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 Bloodhound Teep 1994
Deadly Target
Deadly Target Guard #2 (uncredited) 1994
Private Wars
Private Wars Obata 1993
Showdown
Showdown Hit Man 1993
Frasier
Frasier Security Guard 1993
Undercover Blues
Undercover Blues Novacek's Man 1993
Power Rangers
Power Rangers Warrior 1993
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Hot Shots! Part Deux Kick Boxer Opponent 1993
Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger Tiger 1993
American Ninja 5
American Ninja 5 Viper 1993
Ulterior Motives
Ulterior Motives Yakuza #5 1993
Mission of Justice
Mission of Justice Akiro 1992
Rapid Fire
Rapid Fire Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited) 1992
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons Black Dragon Henchman 1992
Martial Law II: Undercover
Martial Law II: Undercover Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited) 1991
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Showdown in Little Tokyo Yoshida's Man (uncredited) 1991
Do or Die
Do or Die Lew 1991
Night of the Warrior
Night of the Warrior Hector Sabatei 1991
The Perfect Weapon
The Perfect Weapon Crewcut 1991
Guns
Guns Ninja #1 1990
Aftershock
Aftershock Mr. James 1990
Martial Law
Martial Law Tong Member 1990
Nasty Boys
Nasty Boys Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited) 1990
Best of the Best
Best of the Best Sae Jin Kwon 1989
Savage Beach
Savage Beach Agent #1 1989
Family Matters
Family Matters Man in Bar 1989
Ninja Academy
Ninja Academy Ninja Trainer 1989
Roseanne
Roseanne 1988
Evil Destroyer
Evil Destroyer 1988
Action Jackson
Action Jackson Martial Arts Instructor 1988
Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer 1988
Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China Chang Sing #1 1986
MacGyver
MacGyver Asian Thug 1985
Growing Pains
Growing Pains Movie Villain #2 1985
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Los Angeles Streetfighter Chan 1985
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote Cambodian 1984
Killpoint
Killpoint Nighthawk's Gunman #1 1984
Going Berserk
Going Berserk Kung Fu Fighter 1983
T. J. Hooker
T. J. Hooker Asian Thug 1982
T. J. Hooker
T. J. Hooker Ton Li 1982
Young Dragon
Young Dragon Shao Lung 1979
Big Time
Big Time Karate Instructor 1977
Enforcer from Death Row
Enforcer from Death Row Karate Fighter 1976
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie Guard (uncredited) 1976

Directing Credits (5)

Writing Credits (1)

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