James Lew
Acting • Born 1952-09-06
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).
Filmography
109 credits
Escape from L.A.
Movie • 1996
Hershe Gang Member
Angel of Death
Movie • 2009
Tommy
Night Hunter
Movie • 1996
Tom Cutter
American Ninja 5
Movie • 1993
Viper
Do or Die
Movie • 1991
Lew
Robo Warriors
Movie • 1996
Darius
Savage Beach
Movie • 1989
Agent #1
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Movie • 2002
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
Safe House
Movie • 1998
Asian (uncredited)
The Girl from the Naked Eye
Movie • 2012
Eddie
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Movie • 1985
Chan
Showdown
Movie • 1993
Hit Man
Private Wars
Movie • 1993
Obata
Aftershock
Movie • 1990
Mr. James
Midnight Man
Movie • 1995
Prince Samarki
High Voltage
Movie • 1997
Harry
Best of the Best
Movie • 1989
Sae Jin Kwon
The Circuit III: Street Monk
Movie • 2006
Spider Webb
Going Berserk
Movie • 1983
Kung Fu Fighter
Big Time
Movie • 1977
Karate Instructor
The Real Deal
Movie • 2002
Black Belt
Balance of Power
Movie • 1996
Shinji Takamura
Breakout
Movie • 2016
Cap Ruch
The Perfect Weapon
Movie • 1991
Crewcut
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Movie • 2018
Self
Black Salt
Movie • 2015
Abbot Xiao
Deep Core
Movie • 2000
Lou Chang
Big Trouble in Little China
Movie • 1986
Chang Sing #1
Boogie Boy
Movie • 1998
Jason
Night of the Warrior
Movie • 1991
Hector Sabatei
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
Movie • 2017
Sinjin
Gedo
Movie • 2000
James
Tropic Thunder
Movie • 2008
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Movie • 1995
Lee
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Movie • 1994
Chin
Ninja Academy
Movie • 1989
Ninja Trainer
Killpoint
Movie • 1984
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Sin
Movie • 2003
Leo Thamaree
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
Movie • 1988
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Movie • 2005
Xu
Rush Hour
Movie • 1998
Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
Timecop
Movie • 1994
Knife #1
Made in Chinatown
Movie • 2021
Lew
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Movie • 2018
Beat Cop
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Movie • 1993
Kick Boxer Opponent
Guns
Movie • 1990
Ninja #1
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Movie • 2013
Chinese Leader
Red Sun Rising
Movie • 1994
Jaho
Mission of Justice
Movie • 1992
Akiro
For Life or Death
Movie • 1996
Kaan Woo
Frankenstein
Movie • 2015
Hotel Manager
Lethal Weapon 4
Movie • 1998
Freighter's Captain
Assault on Dome 4
Movie • 1996
Quaid, Windham Henchman
Superhero Movie
Movie • 2008
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
Outside the Law
Movie • 2002
Cho Sung
Enforcer from Death Row
Movie • 1976
Karate Fighter
Star Trek
Movie • 2009
Romulan (uncredited)
Undercover Blues
Movie • 1993
Novacek's Man
The Shadow
Movie • 1994
Mongol
Traffic
Movie • 2000
DEA Agent - CalTrans
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Movie • 1976
Guard (uncredited)
Ulterior Motives
Movie • 1993
Yakuza #5
Deadly Target
Movie • 1994
Guard #2 (uncredited)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Movie • 1995
Mercenary (uncredited)
Rapid Fire
Movie • 1992
Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Movie • 1991
Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
On Deadly Ground
Movie • 1994
Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)
18 Fingers of Death!
Movie • 2006
Buford Lee
Safe
Movie • 2012
Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
Martial Law
Movie • 1990
Tong Member
Martial Law II: Undercover
Movie • 1991
Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
Ballistica
Movie • 2009
Chinese Guard #1
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Movie • 1992
Black Dragon Henchman
Young Dragon
Movie • 1979
Shao Lung
The Replacement Killers
Movie • 1998
Bodyguard
Ballistic
Movie • 1995
Woo
Rush Hour 2
Movie • 2001
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
Action Jackson
Movie • 1988
Martial Arts Instructor
Rush Hour 3
Movie • 2007
Triad Assassin (uncredited)
Evil Destroyer
Movie • 1988
Elwood
Movie • 2014
Big O
Tough and Deadly
Movie • 1995
Thug
Ring of Steel
Movie • 1994
Asian Fighter
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Movie • 2010
Shang Tsung (uncredited)
Growing Pains
TV • 1985
Movie Villain #2
CSI: Miami
TV • 2002
ND Man #1
Alias
TV • 2001
Quan Li
Entourage
TV • 2004
Beauty and the Beast
TV • 1987
Tong #3
Roseanne
TV • 1988
Walker, Texas Ranger
TV • 1993
Tiger
Family Matters
TV • 1989
Man in Bar
Weird Science
TV • 1994
Babylon 5
TV • 1994
Bloodhound Teep
Chuck
TV • 2007
Anad Chenerad
Nasty Boys
TV • 1989
Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited)
Frasier
TV • 1993
Security Guard
Childrens Hospital
TV • 2008
Mosura
Nowhere Man
TV • 1995
Thug with knife
Power Rangers
TV • 1993
Warrior
Death Valley
TV • 2011
Man on street (uncredited)
I'm Dying Up Here
TV • 2017
Sensei Phil
MacGyver
TV • 1985
Asian Thug
Strong Medicine
TV • 2000
Cop
Marker
TV • 1995
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Cambodian
Eve
TV • 2003
T. J. Hooker
TV • 1982
Asian Thug
T. J. Hooker
TV • 1982
Ton Li