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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
September 6, 1952
Place of Birth
Escalon, California, USA
Also Known As
- James Jene Fae Lew
James Lew
1.3 Popularity
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).
Known For
6.3
Lew
Made in Chinatown
2021
0.0
Self
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
2018
6.7
Beat Cop
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018
6.5
Sensei Phil
I'm Dying Up Here
2017
3.9
Sinjin
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
2017
0.0
Cap Ruch
Breakout
2016
🎬
0.0
Abbot Xiao
Black Salt
2015
5.4
Hotel Manager
Frankenstein
2015
1.5
Big O
Elwood
2014
5.6
Chinese Leader
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013
Credits
Made in Chinatown
as Lew
2021
6.3
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
as Self
2018
0.0
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
as Beat Cop
2018
6.7
I'm Dying Up Here
as Sensei Phil
2017
6.5
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
as Sinjin
2017
3.9
Breakout
as Cap Ruch
2016
0.0
🎬
Black Salt
as Abbot Xiao
2015
0.0
Frankenstein
as Hotel Manager
2015
5.4
Elwood
as Big O
2014
1.5
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
as Chinese Leader
2013
5.6
The Girl from the Naked Eye
as Eddie
2012
4.4
Safe
as Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
2012
6.5
Death Valley
as Man on street (uncredited)
2011
7.0
Ballistica
as Chinese Guard #1
2009
3.2
Angel of Death
as Tommy
2009
4.8
Star Trek
as Romulan (uncredited)
2009
7.4
Childrens Hospital
as Mosura
2008
7.2
Tropic Thunder
as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
2008
6.7
Superhero Movie
as Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
2008
5.3
Chuck
as Anad Chenerad
2007
7.7
Rush Hour 3
as Triad Assassin (uncredited)
2007
6.5
The Circuit III: Street Monk
as Spider Webb
2006
0.0
18 Fingers of Death!
as Buford Lee
2006
3.1
🎬
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
as Xu
2005
3.1
Entourage
2004
7.3
Eve
2003
9.1
Sin
as Leo Thamaree
2003
4.9
The Real Deal
as Black Belt
2002
3.2
CSI: Miami
as ND Man #1
2002
7.7
Outside the Law
as Cho Sung
2002
4.3
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
as Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
2002
4.9
Alias
as Quan Li
2001
6.8
Rush Hour 2
as Triad Gangster (uncredited)
2001
6.7
Traffic
as DEA Agent - CalTrans
2000
7.1
Deep Core
as Lou Chang
2000
3.6
Strong Medicine
as Cop
2000
7.1
Gedo
as James
2000
5.7
Rush Hour
as Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
1998
7.0
Lethal Weapon 4
as Freighter's Captain
1998
6.6
Safe House
as Asian (uncredited)
1998
6.2
Boogie Boy
as Jason
1998
4.5
The Replacement Killers
as Bodyguard
1998
6.2
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
as Black Dragon Henchman
1997
0.0
Robo Warriors
as Darius
1997
5.2
High Voltage
as Harry
1997
4.9
Assault on Dome 4
as Quaid, Windham Henchman
1996
3.6
Escape from L.A.
as Hershe Gang Member
1996
5.9
Balance of Power
as Shinji Takamura
1996
6.1
Night Hunter
as Tom Cutter
1996
4.6
For Life or Death
as Kaan Woo
1996
4.5
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
as Lee
1995
3.3
Nowhere Man
as Thug with knife
1995
7.6
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
as Mercenary (uncredited)
1995
5.9
Midnight Man
as Prince Samarki
1995
5.1
Ballistic
as Woo
1995
2.9
Tough and Deadly
as Thug
1995
5.5
Marker
1995
4.0
Cage II: The Arena of Death
as Chin
1994
3.1
Timecop
as Knife #1
1994
6.0
Red Sun Rising
as Jaho
1994
4.5
The Shadow
as Mongol
1994
6.1
Ring of Steel
as Asian Fighter
1994
5.1
Weird Science
1994
6.7
On Deadly Ground
as Mercenary at Aegis 1 (uncredited)
1994
5.2
Babylon 5
as Bloodhound Teep
1994
8.0
Deadly Target
as Guard #2 (uncredited)
1994
6.0
Private Wars
as Obata
1993
6.5
Frasier
as Security Guard
1993
7.7
Showdown
as Hit Man
1993
5.8
Undercover Blues
as Novacek's Man
1993
6.0
Power Rangers
as Warrior
1993
7.1
Hot Shots! Part Deux
as Kick Boxer Opponent
1993
6.5
Walker, Texas Ranger
as Tiger
1993
7.0
American Ninja 5
as Viper
1993
4.6
Ulterior Motives
as Yakuza #5
1993
4.0
Mission of Justice
as Akiro
1992
6.7
Rapid Fire
as Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
1992
6.4
Martial Law II: Undercover
as Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
1991
6.2
Showdown in Little Tokyo
as Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
1991
6.4
Do or Die
as Lew
1991
4.5
Night of the Warrior
as Hector Sabatei
1991
4.2
The Perfect Weapon
as Crewcut
1991
6.2
Guns
as Ninja #1
1990
5.0
Aftershock
as Mr. James
1990
4.4
Martial Law
as Tong Member
1990
6.2
Best of the Best
as Sae Jin Kwon
1989
6.5
Savage Beach
as Agent #1
1989
4.5
Family Matters
as Man in Bar
1989
6.7
Nasty Boys
as Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited)
1989
5.5
Ninja Academy
as Ninja Trainer
1989
4.2
Roseanne
1988
6.8
🎬
Evil Destroyer
1988
0.0
Action Jackson
as Martial Arts Instructor
1988
5.5
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
0.0
Beauty and the Beast
1987
7.5
Big Trouble in Little China
as Chang Sing #1
1986
7.2
MacGyver
as Asian Thug
1985
7.7
Growing Pains
as Movie Villain #2
1985
6.5
Los Angeles Streetfighter
as Chan
1985
5.1
Murder, She Wrote
as Cambodian
1984
7.5
Killpoint
as Nighthawk's Gunman #1
1984
5.5
Going Berserk
as Kung Fu Fighter
1983
5.0
T. J. Hooker
as Asian Thug
1982
6.4
T. J. Hooker
as Ton Li
1982
6.4
Young Dragon
as Shao Lung
1979
0.0
Big Time
as Karate Instructor
1977
4.0
Enforcer from Death Row
as Karate Fighter
1976
3.5
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
as Guard (uncredited)
1976
7.1