James Lew

James 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).

Personal info

Gender

Male

Birthday

1952-09-06

Place of birth

Escalon, California, USA

Images

Cast

Night Hunter

Night Hunter

1996

4.60

Do or Die

Do or Die

1991

4.50

Savage Beach

Savage Beach

1989

4.49

Safe House

Safe House

1998

6.18

Showdown

Showdown

1993

5.80

Private Wars

Private Wars

1993

6.50

Aftershock

Aftershock

1990

4.42

Midnight Man

Midnight Man

1995

5.10

High Voltage

High Voltage

1997

4.92

Big Time

Big Time

1977

4.00

Breakout

Breakout

2016

0.00

Black Salt

Black Salt

2015

0.00

Deep Core

Deep Core

2000

3.60

Boogie Boy

Boogie Boy

1998

4.52

Gedo

Gedo

2000

5.70

Killpoint

Killpoint

1984

5.50

Sin

Sin

2003

4.90

Rush Hour

Rush Hour

1998

7.05

Timecop

Timecop

1994

6.02

Guns

Guns

1990

4.89

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

2015

5.43

Star Trek

Star Trek

2009

7.40

The Shadow

The Shadow

1994

6.10

Traffic

Traffic

2000

7.08

Rapid Fire

Rapid Fire

1992

6.40

Safe

Safe

2012

6.49

Martial Law

Martial Law

1990

6.20

Ballistica

Ballistica

2009

3.21

Young Dragon

Young Dragon

1979

0.00

Ballistic

Ballistic

1995

2.92

Rush Hour 2

Rush Hour 2

2001

6.75

Rush Hour 3

Rush Hour 3

2007

6.50

Elwood

Elwood

2014

1.50