James Lew

Personal Info

Known For Actor

Gender Male

Birthday 1952-09-06 (72 years old)

Place of Birth Escalon, California, USA

Also Known As James Jene Fae Lew

James Lew

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).

Known For

Actor

2018
2017
I'm Dying Up Here

as Sensei Phil

2016
Breakout

as Cap Ruch

2015
Black Salt

as Abbot Xiao

2015
Frankenstein

as Hotel Manager

2013
G.I. Joe: Retaliation

as Chinese Leader

2012
Safe

as Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)

2011
Death Valley

as Man on street (uncredited)

2011
Mortal Kombat: Legacy

as Shang Tsung (uncredited)

2009
Ballistica

as Chinese Guard #1

2009
2009
Star Trek

as Romulan (uncredited)

2008
Tropic Thunder

as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)

2008
Superhero Movie

as Shaolin Monk (uncredited)

2008
2007
Rush Hour 3

as Triad Assassin (uncredited)

2007
Chuck

as Anad Chenerad

2006
18 Fingers of Death!

as Buford Lee

2003
Sin

as Leo Thamaree

2003
2002
The Real Deal

as Black Belt

2002
Outside the Law

as Cho Sung

2002
Ultimate Fights from the Movies

as Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)

2002
CSI: Miami

as ND Man #1

2001
Rush Hour 2

as Triad Gangster (uncredited)

2001
Alias

as Quan Li

2000
Traffic

as DEA Agent - CalTrans

2000
Deep Core

as Lou Chang

2000
Gedo

as James

2000
1998
Rush Hour

as Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)

1998
Lethal Weapon 4

as Freighter's Captain

1998
Safe House

as Asian (uncredited)

1998
Boogie Boy

as Jason

1998
1997
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons

as Black Dragon Henchman

1997
Robo Warriors

as Darius

1997
High Voltage

as Harry

1996
Assault on Dome 4

as Quaid, Windham Henchman

1996
Escape from L.A.

as Hershe Gang Member

1996
Balance of Power

as Shinji Takamura

1996
Night Hunter

as Tom Cutter

1996
For Life or Death

as Kaan Woo

1995
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

as Mercenary (uncredited)

1995
Midnight Man

as Prince Samarki

1995
Ballistic

as Woo

1995
Nowhere Man

as Thug with knife

1995
1994
Timecop

as Knife #1

1994
1994
The Shadow

as Mongol

1994
On Deadly Ground

as Mercenary at Aegis 1 (uncredited)

1994
Deadly Target

as Guard #2 (uncredited)

1994
Babylon 5

as Bloodhound Teep

1993
Private Wars

as Obata

1993
Showdown

as Hit Man

1993
Undercover Blues

as Novacek's Man

1993
Hot Shots! Part Deux

as Kick Boxer Opponent

1993
1993
Ulterior Motives

as Yakuza #5

1993
Frasier

as Security Guard

1993
Power Rangers

as Warrior

1992
1992
Rapid Fire

as Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)

1991
Martial Law II: Undercover

as Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)

1991
Showdown in Little Tokyo

as Yoshida's Man (uncredited)

1991
Do or Die

as Lew

1991
Night of the Warrior

as Hector Sabatei

1991
1990
Guns

as Ninja #1

1990
Aftershock

as Mr. James

1990
Martial Law

as Tong Member

1989
Best of the Best

as Sae Jin Kwon

1989
Savage Beach

as Agent #1

1989
Ninja Academy

as Ninja Trainer

1989
Family Matters

as Man in Bar

1989
Nasty Boys

as Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited)

1988
Action Jackson

as Martial Arts Instructor

1986
1985
MacGyver

as Asian Thug

1985
Growing Pains

as Movie Villain #2

1984
Killpoint

as Nighthawk's Gunman #1

1984
Murder, She Wrote

as Cambodian

1983
Going Berserk

as Kung Fu Fighter

1982
T. J. Hooker

as Ton Li / Asian Thug

1979
Young Dragon

as Shao Lung

1977
Big Time

as Karate Instructor

1976
Enforcer from Death Row

as Karate Fighter

1976
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

as Guard (uncredited)

Crew

2017
Maximum Impact

as Fight Choreographer

2016
Westworld

as Stunts

2015
Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser

as Stunt Coordinator

2012
Hijacked

as Stunt Coordinator

2010
Inception

as Stunts

2010
Killers

as Fight Choreographer

2009
Black Dynamite

as Stunts

2008
Get Smart

as Fight Choreographer

2008
Tropic Thunder

as Stunts

2006
18 Fingers of Death!

as Stunt Coordinator

2004
LArceny

as Stunts

2001
1996
1995
Star Trek: Voyager

as Stunt Coordinator

1994
1994
Blue Tiger

as Stunts

1992
Rapid Fire

as Stunts

1991
Double Impact

as Stunt Coordinator

1991
Double Impact

as Martial Arts Choreographer

1991
Double Impact

as Stunts

1991
Ring of Fire

as Stunts

1990
Aftershock

as Stunt Coordinator

1990
Guns

as Stunt Coordinator

1988
They Live

as Stunts

1986
Big Trouble in Little China

as Martial Arts Choreographer

1979

Director

2021
Made in Chinatown

as Director

2021
Made in Chinatown

as Action Director

2017
Maximum Impact

as Assistant Director

2006

Producer

2021
Made in Chinatown

as Co-Producer

1986
Big Trouble in Little China

as Associate Producer

Writer

2006