credits of
James Lew
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).
Release Date | Title | Character Name | Rating | Your Lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 10th, 2021 | Made in Chinatown | Lew | 5.8 | |
December 15th, 2018 | Henchman: The Al Leong Story | Self | 9.5 | |
October 13th, 2018 | Cucuy: The Boogeyman | Beat Cop | 6.6 | |
May 8th, 2017 | Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine | Sinjin | 3.9 | |
June 9th, 2016 | Breakout | Cap Ruch | TBD | |
December 31st, 2015 | Black Salt | Abbot Xiao | TBD | |
August 29th, 2015 | Frankenstein | Hotel Manager | 5.5 | |
June 1st, 2014 | Elwood | Big O | 2.3 | |
March 27th, 2013 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | Chinese Leader | 5.7 | |
June 15th, 2012 | The Girl from the Naked Eye | Eddie | 4.5 | |
April 16th, 2012 | Safe | Underground Casino Guard (uncredited) | 6.5 | |
June 8th, 2010 | Mortal Kombat: Rebirth | Shang Tsung (uncredited) | 6.2 | |
December 18th, 2009 | Ballistica | Chinese Guard #1 | 3.5 | |
July 7th, 2009 | Angel of Death | Tommy | 4.8 | |
May 6th, 2009 | Star Trek | Romulan (uncredited) | 7.4 | |
August 9th, 2008 | Tropic Thunder | Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited) | 6.7 | |
March 28th, 2008 | Superhero Movie | Shaolin Monk (uncredited) | 5.3 | |
August 8th, 2007 | Rush Hour 3 | Triad Assassin (uncredited) | 6.5 | |
October 31st, 2006 | The Circuit III: Street Monk | Spider Webb | 10 | |
April 11th, 2006 | 18 Fingers of Death! | Buford Lee | 3.6 | |
January 1st, 2005 | Shira: The Vampire Samurai | Xu | 4.3 | |
January 1st, 2003 | Sin | Leo Thamaree | 4.9 | |
November 27th, 2002 | The Real Deal | Black Belt | 4.1 | |
November 6th, 2002 | Sting of the Black Scorpion | Tong Leader | 5.6 | |
June 25th, 2002 | Outside the Law | Cho Sung | 4.3 | |
April 16th, 2002 | Ultimate Fights from the Movies | Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage) | 5.1 | |
August 3rd, 2001 | Rush Hour 2 | Triad Gangster (uncredited) | 6.8 | |
December 27th, 2000 | Traffic | DEA Agent - CalTrans | 7.1 | |
June 14th, 2000 | Deep Core | Lou Chang | 4 | |
April 4th, 2000 | Fatal Blade | James | 5.6 | |
September 18th, 1998 | Rush Hour | Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited) | 7.1 | |
July 10th, 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 | Freighter's Captain | 6.6 | |
July 1st, 1998 | Safe House | Asian (uncredited) | 6.2 | |
February 12th, 1998 | Boogie Boy | Jason | 4.6 | |
February 6th, 1998 | The Replacement Killers | Bodyguard | 6.3 | |
November 1st, 1997 | High Voltage | Harry | 5.4 | |
October 8th, 1996 | Assault on Dome 4 | Quaid, Windham Henchman | 3.8 | |
October 1st, 1996 | Robo Warriors | Darius | 5.5 | |
August 9th, 1996 | Escape from L.A. | Hershe Gang Member | 5.9 | |
June 25th, 1996 | Balance of Power | Shinji Takamura | 6.1 | |
April 1st, 1996 | Night Hunter | Tom Cutter | 4.8 | |
January 23rd, 1996 | For Life or Death | Kaan Woo | 6.5 | |
August 29th, 1995 | Excessive Force II: Force on Force | Lee | 3.8 | |
July 13th, 1995 | Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | Mercenary (uncredited) | 5.9 | |
May 9th, 1995 | Midnight Man | Prince Samarki | 5.5 | |
February 28th, 1995 | Ballistic | Woo | 3.6 | |
February 14th, 1995 | Tough and Deadly | Thug | 5.7 | |
December 14th, 1994 | Cage II: The Arena of Death | Chin | 3.4 | |
September 15th, 1994 | Timecop | Knife #1 | 6 | |
September 1st, 1994 | Red Sun Rising | Jaho | 5.1 | |
July 1st, 1994 | The Shadow | Mongol | 6.1 | |
March 30th, 1994 | Ring of Steel | Asian Fighter | 5.1 | |
February 18th, 1994 | On Deadly Ground | Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited) | 5.2 | |
January 1st, 1994 | Deadly Target | Guard #2 (uncredited) | 6.2 | |
October 13th, 1993 | Private Wars | Obata | 6.8 | |
September 16th, 1993 | Showdown | Hit Man | 6 | |
September 10th, 1993 | Undercover Blues | Novacek's Man | 6.1 | |
May 21st, 1993 | Hot Shots! Part Deux | Kick Boxer Opponent | 6.5 | |
April 2nd, 1993 | American Ninja 5 | Viper | 4.8 | |
January 6th, 1993 | Ulterior Motives | Yakuza #5 | 4.8 | |
December 2nd, 1992 | Mission of Justice | Akiro | 6.7 | |
August 21st, 1992 | Rapid Fire | Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited) | 6.4 | |
June 19th, 1992 | Raven: Return of the Black Dragons | Black Dragon Henchman | 8 | |
October 1st, 1991 | Martial Law II: Undercover | Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited) | 6.2 | |
August 23rd, 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo | Yoshida's Man (uncredited) | 6.4 | |
June 28th, 1991 | Do or Die | Lew | 4.4 | |
June 1st, 1991 | Night of the Warrior | Hector Sabatei | 5 | |
March 15th, 1991 | The Perfect Weapon | Crewcut | 6.3 | |
November 9th, 1990 | Guns | Ninja #1 | 4.7 | |
October 5th, 1990 | Aftershock | Mr. James | 4.6 | |
October 1st, 1990 | Martial Law | Tong Member | 6.2 | |
November 10th, 1989 | Best of the Best | Sae Jin Kwon | 6.5 | |
October 1st, 1989 | Savage Beach | Agent #1 | 4.5 | |
August 17th, 1989 | Ninja Academy | Ninja Trainer | 4.3 | |
March 31st, 1988 | Evil Destroyer | TBD | TBD | |
February 12th, 1988 | Action Jackson | Martial Arts Instructor | 5.5 | |
January 1st, 1988 | Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer | TBD | TBD | |
May 30th, 1986 | Big Trouble in Little China | Chang Sing #1 | 7.2 | |
March 23rd, 1985 | Los Angeles Streetfighter | Chan | 5.2 | |
March 1st, 1984 | Killpoint | Nighthawk's Gunman #1 | 5.7 | |
September 30th, 1983 | Going Berserk | Kung Fu Fighter | 5.1 | |
August 1st, 1979 | Young Dragon | Shao Lung | 9 | |
July 31st, 1977 | Big Time | Karate Instructor | 7 | |
July 9th, 1976 | Enforcer from Death Row | Karate Fighter | 5.7 | |
February 15th, 1976 | The Killing of a Chinese Bookie | Guard (uncredited) | 7.1 |