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).
Filmography · 106
Frasier
1993 · Security Guard
CSI: Miami
2002 · ND Man #1
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Cambodian
Entourage
2004
Babylon 5
1994 · Bloodhound Teep
MacGyver
1985 · Asian Thug
Chuck
2007 · Anad Chenerad
Strong Medicine
2000 · Cop
Family Matters
1989 · Man in Bar
Childrens Hospital
2008 · Mosura
T. J. Hooker
1982 · Asian Thug
Power Rangers
1993 · Warrior
Walker, Texas Ranger
1993 · Tiger
Star Trek
2009 · Romulan (uncredited)
Growing Pains
1985 · Movie Villain #2
Rush Hour
1998 · Juntao's Man in Los An...
Weird Science
1994
Superhero Movie
2008 · Shaolin Monk (uncredit...
Tropic Thunder
2008 · Flaming Dragon Compoun...
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013 · Chinese Leader
Big Trouble in Little China
1986 · Chang Sing #1
Rush Hour 2
2001 · Triad Gangster (uncred...
Eve
2003
Nowhere Man
1995 · Thug with Knife
Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993 · Kick Boxer Opponent
Lethal Weapon 4
1998 · Freighter's Captain
Alias
2001 · Quan Li
Rush Hour 3
2007 · Triad Assassin (uncred...
Safe
2012 · Underground Casino Gua...
Traffic
2000 · DEA Agent - CalTrans
Escape from L.A.
1996 · Hershe Gang Member
On Deadly Ground
1994 · Mercenary at Aegis-1 (...
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995 · Mercenary (uncredited)
Death Valley
2011 · Man on street (uncredi...
Roseanne
1988
Best of the Best
1989 · Sae Jin Kwon
I'm Dying Up Here
2017 · Sensei Phil
Timecop
1994 · Knife #1
The Shadow
1994 · Mongol
The Replacement Killers
1998 · Bodyguard
Action Jackson
1988 · Martial Arts Instructo...
Marker
1995
Showdown in Little Tokyo
1991 · Yoshida's Man (uncredi...
Nasty Boys
1990 · Fighter / Karate class...
Rapid Fire
1992 · Tau's Men at Laundry (...
Undercover Blues
1993 · Novacek's Man
Do or Die
1991 · Lew
The Perfect Weapon
1991 · Crewcut
Savage Beach
1989 · Agent #1
Mission of Justice
1992 · Akiro
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976 · Guard (uncredited)
Red Sun Rising
1994 · Jaho
Martial Law II: Undercover
1991 · Spencer Hamilton Man (...
Frankenstein
2015 · Hotel Manager
Guns
1990 · Ninja #1
Going Berserk
1983 · Kung Fu Fighter
Robo Warriors
1996 · Darius
Martial Law
1990 · Tong Member
Angel of Death
2009 · Tommy
High Voltage
1997 · Harry
Deep Core
2000 · Lou Chang
Sin
2003 · Leo Thamaree
Fatal Blade
2000 · James
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002 · Knife #1 (Timecop) (ar...
Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994 · Chin
The Real Deal
2002 · Black Belt
The Girl from the Naked Eye
2012 · Eddie
Ninja Academy
1989 · Ninja Trainer
American Ninja 5
1993 · Viper
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
2017 · Sinjin
Safe House
1998 · Asian (uncredited)
Deadly Target
1994 · Guard #2 (uncredited)
Night of the Warrior
1991 · Hector Sabatei
Made in Chinatown
2021 · Lew
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018 · Beat Cop
Showdown
1993 · Hit Man
Night Hunter
1996 · Tom Cutter
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
1995 · Lee
Tough and Deadly
1995 · Thug
Private Wars
1993 · Obata
Outside the Law
2002 · Cho Sung
Boogie Boy
1998 · Jason
Ballistic
1995 · Woo
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
2010 · Shang Tsung (uncredite...
Ballistica
2009 · Chinese Guard #1
18 Fingers of Death!
2006 · Buford Lee
Balance of Power
1996 · Shinji Takamura
Ring of Steel
1994 · Asian Fighter
Ulterior Motives
1993 · Yakuza #5
Midnight Man
1995 · Prince Samarki
Assault on Dome 4
1996 · Quaid, Windham Henchma...
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
1992 · Black Dragon Henchman
Sting of the Black Scorpion
2002 · Tong Leader
For Life or Death
1996 · Kaan Woo
Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
Aftershock
1990 · Mr. James
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
2018 · Self
Killpoint
1984 · Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985 · Chan
Elwood
2014 · Big O
Big Time
1977 · Karate Instructor
Breakout
2016 · Cap Ruch
The Circuit III: Street Monk
2006 · Spider Webb
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005 · Xu
Young Dragon
1979 · Shao Lung
Enforcer from Death Row
1976 · Karate Fighter