James Lew
Acting
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
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Self
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Beat Cop
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
Sinjin
Breakout
Cap Ruch
Black Salt
Abbot Xiao
Frankenstein
Hotel Manager
Elwood
Big O
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Chinese Leader
The Girl from the Naked Eye
Eddie
Safe
Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Shang Tsung (uncredited)
Ballistica
Chinese Guard #1
Angel of Death
Tommy
Star Trek
Romulan (uncredited)
Tropic Thunder
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
Superhero Movie
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
Rush Hour 3
Triad Assassin (uncredited)
The Circuit III: Street Monk
Spider Webb
18 Fingers of Death!
Buford Lee
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Xu
Sin
Leo Thamaree
The Real Deal
Black Belt
Outside the Law
Cho Sung
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
Rush Hour 2
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
Traffic
DEA Agent - CalTrans
Deep Core
Lou Chang
Gedo
James
Rush Hour
Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
Lethal Weapon 4
Freighter's Captain
Safe House
Asian (uncredited)
Boogie Boy
Jason
The Replacement Killers
Bodyguard
High Voltage
Harry
Assault on Dome 4
Quaid, Windham Henchman
Robo Warriors
Darius
Escape from L.A.
Hershe Gang Member
Balance of Power
Shinji Takamura
Night Hunter
Tom Cutter
For Life or Death
Kaan Woo
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Lee
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Mercenary (uncredited)
Midnight Man
Prince Samarki
Ballistic
Woo
Tough and Deadly
Thug
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Chin
Timecop
Knife #1
Red Sun Rising
Jaho
The Shadow
Mongol
Ring of Steel
Asian Fighter
On Deadly Ground
Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)
Deadly Target
Guard #2 (uncredited)
Private Wars
Obata
Showdown
Hit Man
Undercover Blues
Novacek's Man
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Kick Boxer Opponent
American Ninja 5
Viper
Ulterior Motives
Yakuza #5
Mission of Justice
Akiro
Rapid Fire
Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Black Dragon Henchman
Martial Law II: Undercover
Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
Do or Die
Lew
Night of the Warrior
Hector Sabatei
The Perfect Weapon
Crewcut
Guns
Ninja #1
Aftershock
Mr. James
Martial Law
Tong Member
Best of the Best
Sae Jin Kwon
Savage Beach
Agent #1
Ninja Academy
Ninja Trainer
Evil Destroyer
Action Jackson
Martial Arts Instructor
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
Big Trouble in Little China
Chang Sing #1
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Chan
Killpoint
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Going Berserk
Kung Fu Fighter
Young Dragon
Shao Lung
Big Time
Karate Instructor
Enforcer from Death Row
Karate Fighter
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Guard (uncredited)