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