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).
Gender
Male
Birthday
1952-09-06
Place of birth
Escalon, California, USA
Escape from L.A.
1996
5.87
Angel of Death
2009
4.80
Night Hunter
1996
4.60
American Ninja 5
1993
4.60
Do or Die
1991
4.50
Robo Warriors
1997
5.20
Savage Beach
1989
4.49
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002
4.90
Safe House
1998
6.18
The Girl from the Naked Eye
2012
4.40
Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985
5.10
Showdown
1993
5.80
Private Wars
1993
6.50
Aftershock
1990
4.42
Midnight Man
1995
5.10
High Voltage
1997
4.92
Best of the Best
1989
6.50
The Circuit III: Street Monk
2006
0.00
Going Berserk
1983
5.00
Big Time
1977
4.00
The Real Deal
2002
3.17
Balance of Power
1996
6.10
Breakout
2016
0.00
The Perfect Weapon
1991
6.20
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
2018
0.00
Black Salt
2015
0.00
Deep Core
2000
3.60
Big Trouble in Little China
1986
7.21
Boogie Boy
1998
4.52
Night of the Warrior
1991
4.20
Gedo
2000
5.70
Tropic Thunder
2008
6.69
Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994
3.10
Ninja Academy
1989
4.20
Killpoint
1984
5.50
Sin
2003
4.90
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
0.00
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005
3.13
Rush Hour
1998
7.05
Timecop
1994
6.02
Made in Chinatown
2021
6.30
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018
6.67
Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993
6.55
Guns
1990
4.89
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013
5.63
Red Sun Rising
1994
4.50
Mission of Justice
1992
6.70
For Life or Death
1996
4.50
Frankenstein
2015
5.43
Lethal Weapon 4
1998
6.60
Assault on Dome 4
1996
3.60
Superhero Movie
2008
5.27
Outside the Law
2002
4.30
Enforcer from Death Row
1976
3.50
Star Trek
2009
7.40
Undercover Blues
1993
6.00
The Shadow
1994
6.10
Traffic
2000
7.08
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976
7.10
Ulterior Motives
1993
4.00
Deadly Target
1994
6.03
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995
5.85
Rapid Fire
1992
6.40
Showdown in Little Tokyo
1991
6.38
On Deadly Ground
1994
5.21
18 Fingers of Death!
2006
3.08
Safe
2012
6.49
Martial Law
1990
6.20
Martial Law II: Undercover
1991
6.20
Ballistica
2009
3.21
Young Dragon
1979
0.00
The Replacement Killers
1998
6.20
Ballistic
1995
2.92
Rush Hour 2
2001
6.75
Action Jackson
1988
5.50
Rush Hour 3
2007
6.50
Evil Destroyer
1988
0.00
Elwood
2014
1.50
Tough and Deadly
1995
5.50
Ring of Steel
1994
5.09