James Lew
Born September 06, 1952 (Age: 73)
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Escalon, California, USA
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).
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).
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Filmography
Breakout
2016
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as Cap Ruch
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Age: 63
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013
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as Chinese Leader
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Age: 60
Safe
2012
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as Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
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Age: 59
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
2010
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as Shang Tsung (uncredited)
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Age: 57
Star Trek
2009
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as Romulan (uncredited)
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Age: 56
Tropic Thunder
2008
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as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
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Age: 55
Superhero Movie
2008
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as Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
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Age: 55
Rush Hour 3
2007
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as Triad Assassin (uncredited)
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Age: 54
The Circuit III: Street Monk
2006
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as Spider Webb
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Age: 54
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005
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as Xu
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Age: 52
The Real Deal
2002
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as Black Belt
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Age: 50
Outside the Law
2002
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as Cho Sung
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Age: 49
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002
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as Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
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Age: 49
Rush Hour 2
2001
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as Triad Gangster (uncredited)
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Age: 48
Traffic
2000
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as DEA Agent - CalTrans
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Age: 48
Deep Core
2000
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as Lou Chang
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Age: 47
Gedo
2000
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as James
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Age: 47
Rush Hour
1998
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as Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
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Age: 46
Lethal Weapon 4
1998
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as Freighter's Captain
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Age: 45
Safe House
1998
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as Asian (uncredited)
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Age: 45
Boogie Boy
1998
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as Jason
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Age: 45
The Replacement Killers
1998
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as Bodyguard
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Age: 45
High Voltage
1997
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as Harry
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Age: 45
Assault on Dome 4
1996
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as Quaid, Windham Henchman
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Age: 44
Robo Warriors
1996
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as Darius
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Age: 44
Escape from L.A.
1996
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as Hershe Gang Member
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Age: 43
Balance of Power
1996
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as Shinji Takamura
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Age: 43
Night Hunter
1996
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as Tom Cutter
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Age: 43
For Life or Death
1996
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as Kaan Woo
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Age: 43
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995
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as Mercenary (uncredited)
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Age: 42
Timecop
1994
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as Knife #1
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Age: 42
The Shadow
1994
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as Mongol
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Age: 41
On Deadly Ground
1994
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as Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)
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Age: 41
Private Wars
1993
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as Obata
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Age: 41
Showdown
1993
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as Hit Man
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Age: 41
Undercover Blues
1993
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as Novacek's Man
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Age: 41
Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993
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as Kick Boxer Opponent
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Age: 40
American Ninja 5
1993
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as Viper
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Age: 40
Ulterior Motives
1993
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as Yakuza #5
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Age: 40
Mission of Justice
1992
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as Akiro
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Age: 40
Rapid Fire
1992
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as Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
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Age: 39
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
1992
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as Black Dragon Henchman
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Age: 39
Martial Law II: Undercover
1991
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as Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
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Age: 39
Showdown in Little Tokyo
1991
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as Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
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Age: 38
Do or Die
1991
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as Lew
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Age: 38
Night of the Warrior
1991
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as Hector Sabatei
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Age: 38
The Perfect Weapon
1991
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as Crewcut
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Age: 38
Guns
1990
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as Ninja #1
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Age: 38
Aftershock
1990
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as Mr. James
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Age: 38
Martial Law
1990
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as Tong Member
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Age: 38
Best of the Best
1989
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as Sae Jin Kwon
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Age: 37
Savage Beach
1989
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as Agent #1
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Age: 37
Ninja Academy
1989
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as Ninja Trainer
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Age: 36
No Image
Evil Destroyer
1988
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as
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Age: 35
Action Jackson
1988
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as Martial Arts Instructor
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Age: 35
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
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as
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Age: 35
Big Trouble in Little China
1986
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as Chang Sing #1
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Age: 33
Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985
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as Chan
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Age: 32