James Lew
Born
September 6, 1952 (72 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
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).
Made in Chinatown
Lew
2021
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Self
2018
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Beat Cop
2018
I'm Dying Up Here
Sensei Phil · (1 episode)
2017
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
Death Valley
Man on street (uncredited) · (1 episode)
2011
Ballistica
Chinese Guard #1
2009
Angel of Death
Tommy
2009
Star Trek
Romulan (uncredited)
2009
Childrens Hospital
Mosura · (1 episode)
2008
Tropic Thunder
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
2008
Superhero Movie
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
2008
Chuck
Anad Chenerad · (1 episode)
2007
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
Xu
2005
Entourage
(1 episode)
2004
Eve
(1 episode)
2003
Sin
Leo Thamaree
2003
The Real Deal
Black Belt
2002
CSI: Miami
ND Man #1 · (1 episode)
2002
Outside the Law
Cho Sung
2002
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
2002
Alias
Quan Li · (1 episode)
2001
Rush Hour 2
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
2001
Traffic
DEA Agent - CalTrans
2000
Deep Core
Lou Chang
2000
Strong Medicine
Cop · (1 episode)
2000
Gedo
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
Nowhere Man
Thug with knife · (1 episode)
1995
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Mercenary (uncredited)
1995
Midnight Man
Prince Samarki
1995
Ballistic
Woo
1995
Tough and Deadly
Thug
1995
Marker
(1 episode)
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
Weird Science
(1 episode)
1994
On Deadly Ground
Mercenary at Aegis 1 (uncredited)
1994
Babylon 5
Bloodhound Teep · (1 episode)
1994
Deadly Target
Guard #2 (uncredited)
1994
Private Wars
Obata
1993
Showdown
Hit Man
1993
Frasier
Security Guard · (1 episode)
1993
Undercover Blues
Novacek's Man
1993
Power Rangers
Warrior · (1 episode)
1993
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Kick Boxer Opponent
1993
Walker, Texas Ranger
Tiger · (1 episode)
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
Family Matters
Man in Bar · (1 episode)
1989
Nasty Boys
Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited) · (2 episodes)
1989
Ninja Academy
Ninja Trainer
1989
Roseanne
(1 episode)
1988
Evil Destroyer
1988
Action Jackson
Martial Arts Instructor
1988
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
Beauty and the Beast
(1 episode)
1987
Big Trouble in Little China
Chang Sing #1
1986
MacGyver
Asian Thug · (1 episode)
1985
Growing Pains
Movie Villain #2 · (1 episode)
1985
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Chan
1985
Murder, She Wrote
Cambodian · (1 episode)
1984
Killpoint
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
1984
Going Berserk
Kung Fu Fighter
1983
T. J. Hooker
Asian Thug · (1 episode)
1982
T. J. Hooker
Ton Li · (1 episode)
1982
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