Cast
James Lew
Acting
Cast
James Lew
Known for
Acting
Born
1952-09-06
From
Escalon, California, USA
Also known as James Jene Fae 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).
β
7.1
MOVIE1998
Rush Hour
as Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
β
5.7
MOVIE2013
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
as Chinese Leader
β
7.4
MOVIE2009
Star Trek
as Romulan (uncredited)
β
6.8
MOVIE2001
Rush Hour 2
as Triad Gangster (uncredited)
β
6.7
MOVIE2008
Tropic Thunder
as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
β
6.5
MOVIE2012
Safe
as Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
β
7.2
MOVIE1986
Big Trouble in Little China
as Chang Sing #1
β
6.5
MOVIE2007
Rush Hour 3
as Triad Assassin (uncredited)
β
6.6
MOVIE1998
Lethal Weapon 4
as Freighter's Captain
β
5.3
MOVIE2008
Superhero Movie
as Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
β
7.1
MOVIE2000
Traffic
as DEA Agent - CalTrans
β
6.5
MOVIE1993
Hot Shots! Part Deux
as Kick Boxer Opponent
β
5.9
MOVIE1996
Escape from L.A.
as Hershe Gang Member
β
5.9
MOVIE1995
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
as Mercenary (uncredited)
β
6.0
MOVIE1994
Timecop
as Knife #1
β
3.4
MOVIE1994
Cage II: The Arena of Death
as Chin
β
4.1
MOVIE2000
Deep Core
as Lou Chang
β
6.3
MOVIE1998
The Replacement Killers
as Bodyguard
β
5.2
MOVIE1994
On Deadly Ground
as Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)
β
6.4
MOVIE1991
Showdown in Little Tokyo
as Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
β
6.1
MOVIE1994
The Shadow
as Mongol
β
5.1
MOVIE2002
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
as Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
β
5.5
MOVIE1988
Action Jackson
as Martial Arts Instructor
β
6.2
MOVIE1991
Martial Law II: Undercover
as Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
β
6.4
MOVIE1991
The Perfect Weapon
as Crewcut
β
4.4
MOVIE1991
Do or Die
as Lew
β
4.5
MOVIE1989
Savage Beach
as Agent #1
β
6.5
MOVIE1989
Best of the Best
as Sae Jin Kwon
β
6.4
MOVIE1992
Rapid Fire
as Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
β
7.0
MOVIE1976
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
as Guard (uncredited)
β
6.1
MOVIE1993
Undercover Blues
as Novacek's Man
β
4.7
MOVIE1990
Guns
as Ninja #1
β
4.5
MOVIE2012
The Girl from the Naked Eye
as Eddie
β
6.2
MOVIE1990
Martial Law
as Tong Member
β
5.0
MOVIE1991
Night of the Warrior
as Hector Sabatei
MOVIE2011
Let Lorenzo
as Interior Design Older Partner
β
5.1
MOVIE1994
Red Sun Rising
as Jaho
β
5.2
MOVIE1997
High Voltage
as Harry
β
4.6
MOVIE1998
Boogie Boy
as Jason
β
5.5
MOVIE2015
Frankenstein
as Hotel Manager
β
5.9
MOVIE1993
Showdown
as Hit Man
β
4.8
MOVIE1993
American Ninja 5
as Viper
β
4.8
MOVIE2009
Angel of Death
as Tommy
β
4.9
MOVIE2003
Sin
as Leo Thamaree
β
5.7
MOVIE1995
Tough and Deadly
as Thug
β
5.6
MOVIE2000
Fatal Blade
as James
β
5.5
MOVIE1996
Robo Warriors
as Darius
β
4.3
MOVIE2002
Outside the Law
as Cho Sung
β
6.1
MOVIE2010
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
as Shang Tsung (uncredited)
β
4.8
MOVIE1996
Night Hunter
as Tom Cutter
β
5.1
MOVIE1983
Going Berserk
as Kung Fu Fighter
β
6.2
MOVIE1994
Deadly Target
as Guard #2 (uncredited)
β
3.8
MOVIE1995
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
as Lee
MOVIE1988
Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
β
6.5
MOVIE2018
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
as Beat Cop
β
4.3
MOVIE1989
Ninja Academy
as Ninja Trainer
β
4.1
MOVIE2002
The Real Deal
as Black Belt
β
6.7
MOVIE1992
Mission of Justice
as Akiro
β
3.6
MOVIE2006
18 Fingers of Death!
as Buford Lee
β
6.1
MOVIE1996
Balance of Power
as Shinji Takamura
β
4.3
MOVIE2005
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
as Xu
β
5.1
MOVIE1994
Ring of Steel
as Asian Fighter
β
5.3
MOVIE1985
Los Angeles Streetfighter
as Chan
β
5.5
MOVIE1995
Midnight Man
as Prince Samarki
β
3.6
MOVIE1995
Ballistic
as Woo
β
5.7
MOVIE1984
Killpoint
as Nighthawk's Gunman #1
β
3.8
MOVIE1996
Assault on Dome 4
as Quaid, Windham Henchman
β
5.6
MOVIE2002
Sting of the Black Scorpion
as Tong Leader
β
6.5
MOVIE1996
For Life or Death
as Kaan Woo
β
6.8
MOVIE1993
Private Wars
as Obata
β
4.8
MOVIE1993
Ulterior Motives
as Yakuza #5
β
5.8
MOVIE2021
Made in Chinatown
as Lew
β
6.2
MOVIE1998
Safe House
as Asian (uncredited)
β
3.3
MOVIE2009
Ballistica
as Chinese Guard #1
MOVIE1988
Evil Destroyer
β
5.7
MOVIE1976
Enforcer from Death Row
as Karate Fighter
β
8.0
MOVIE1992
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
as Black Dragon Henchman
β
10.0
MOVIE2006
The Circuit III: Street Monk
as Spider Webb
β
4.6
MOVIE1990
Aftershock
as Mr. James
β
9.5
MOVIE2018
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
as Self
β
3.9
MOVIE2017
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
as Sinjin
MOVIE2016
Breakout
as Cap Ruch
β
2.3
MOVIE2014
Elwood
as Big O
β
7.0
MOVIE1977
Big Time
as Karate Instructor
β
9.0
MOVIE1979
Young Dragon
as Shao Lung
MOVIE2015
Black Salt
as Abbot Xiao