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