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James Lew
Born · September 6, 1952 (72 years old)
Known For: Acting
Place of Birth: Escalon, California, USA
Bio
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
6.3
2021
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Self
0.0
2018
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Beat Cop
6.7
2018
I'm Dying Up Here
Sensei Phil · (1 episode)
6.5
2017
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
Sinjin
3.6
2017
Breakout
Cap Ruch
0.0
2016
Black Salt
Abbot Xiao
0.0
2015
Frankenstein
Hotel Manager
5.4
2015
Elwood
Big O
0.0
2014
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Chinese Leader
5.6
2013
The Girl from the Naked Eye
Eddie
4.5
2012
Safe
Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
6.5
2012
Death Valley
Man on street (uncredited) · (1 episode)
7.0
2011
Mortal Kombat: Legacy
Shang Tsung (uncredited) · (1 episode)
6.9
2011
Ballistica
Chinese Guard #1
3.4
2009
Angel of Death
Tommy
4.8
2009
Star Trek
Romulan (uncredited)
7.4
2009
Childrens Hospital
Mosura · (1 episode)
7.2
2008
Tropic Thunder
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
6.7
2008
Superhero Movie
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
5.3
2008
Chuck
Anad Chenerad · (1 episode)
7.7
2007
Rush Hour 3
Triad Assassin (uncredited)
6.5
2007
The Circuit III: Final Flight
Spider Webb
0.0
2006
18 Fingers of Death!
Buford Lee
3.3
2006
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Xu
3.1
2005
Entourage
(1 episode)
7.3
2004
Eve
(1 episode)
9.1
2003
Sin
Leo Thamaree
4.9
2003
The Real Deal
Black Belt
3.6
2002
CSI: Miami
ND Man #1 · (1 episode)
7.7
2002
Outside the Law
Cho Sung
4.3
2002
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
4.9
2002
Alias
Quan Li · (1 episode)
6.7
2001
Rush Hour 2
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
6.7
2001
Traffic
DEA Agent - CalTrans
7.1
2000
Deep Core
Lou Chang
3.6
2000
Strong Medicine
Cop · (1 episode)
7.1
2000
Gedo
James
5.7
2000
Rush Hour
Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
7.0
1998
Lethal Weapon 4
Freighter's Captain
6.6
1998
Safe House
Asian (uncredited)
6.3
1998
Boogie Boy
Jason
4.5
1998
The Replacement Killers
Bodyguard
6.2
1998
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Black Dragon Henchman
0.0
1997
Robo Warriors
Darius
5.3
1997
High Voltage
Harry
5.2
1997
Assault on Dome 4
Quaid, Windham Henchman
3.6
1996
Escape from L.A.
Hershe Gang Member
5.9
1996
Balance of Power
Shinji Takamura
6.1
1996
Night Hunter
Tom Cutter
4.8
1996
For Life or Death
Kaan Woo
5.0
1996
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Lee
3.3
1995
Nowhere Man
Thug with knife · (1 episode)
7.5
1995
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Mercenary (uncredited)
5.8
1995
Midnight Man
Prince Samarki
5.1
1995
Ballistic
Woo
3.3
1995
Marker
(1 episode)
4.0
1995
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Chin
3.1
1994
Timecop
Knife #1
6.0
1994
Red Sun Rising
Jaho
4.5
1994
The Shadow
Mongol
6.1
1994
Weird Science
(1 episode)
6.7
1994
On Deadly Ground
Mercenary at Aegis 1 (uncredited)
5.2
1994
Babylon 5
Bloodhound Teep · (1 episode)
8.0
1994
Deadly Target
Guard #2 (uncredited)
6.0
1994
Private Wars
Obata
6.5
1993
Showdown
Hit Man
5.8
1993
Frasier
Security Guard · (1 episode)
7.7
1993
Undercover Blues
Novacek's Man
6.0
1993
Power Rangers
Warrior · (1 episode)
7.1
1993
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Kick Boxer Opponent
6.5
1993
Walker, Texas Ranger
Tiger · (1 episode)
7.0
1993
American Ninja 5
Viper
4.7
1993
Ulterior Motives
Yakuza #5
4.0
1993
Mission of Justice
Akiro
6.7
1992
Rapid Fire
Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
6.4
1992
Martial Law II: Undercover
Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
6.2
1991
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
6.4
1991
Do or Die
Lew
4.7
1991
Night of the Warrior
Hector Sabatei
4.2
1991
The Perfect Weapon
Crewcut
6.1
1991
Guns
Ninja #1
5.1
1990
Aftershock
Mr. James
4.7
1990
Martial Law
Tong Member
6.2
1990
Best of the Best
Sae Jin Kwon
6.4
1989
Savage Beach
Agent #1
4.6
1989
Family Matters
Man in Bar · (1 episode)
6.7
1989
Nasty Boys
Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited) · (2 episodes)
5.5
1989
Ninja Academy
Ninja Trainer
4.2
1989
Roseanne
(1 episode)
6.8
1988
Evil Destroyer
0.0
1988
Action Jackson
Martial Arts Instructor
5.5
1988
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
0.0
1988
Beauty and the Beast
(1 episode)
7.5
1987
Big Trouble in Little China
Chang Sing #1
7.2
1986
MacGyver
Asian Thug · (1 episode)
7.7
1985
Growing Pains
Movie Villain #2 · (1 episode)
6.5
1985
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Chan
5.1
1985
Murder, She Wrote
Cambodian · (1 episode)
7.5
1984
Killpoint
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
5.5
1984
Going Berserk
Kung Fu Fighter
5.1
1983
T. J. Hooker
Asian Thug · (1 episode)
6.3
1982
T. J. Hooker
Ton Li · (1 episode)
6.3
1982
Young Dragon
Shao Lung
0.0
1979
Big Time
Karate Instructor
4.0
1977
Enforcer from Death Row
Karate Fighter
3.5
1976
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Guard (uncredited)
7.1
1976