JL
James Lew
Actor, Producer, Director, Writer, Additional CreditsBorn September 6, 1952 (72 years)
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).
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).
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2024 | Mind Wave · as General Liu |
| 2021 | Made in Chinatown · as Lew |
| 2020 | Going Rogue · as Toyo |
| 2019 | American Bistro · as Angry Man #1 |
| 2019 | Warrior (TV Series) · as Sifu Li Qiang |
| 2018 | Cucuy: The Boogeyman · as Beat Cop |
| 2017 | I'm Dying Up Here (TV Series) · as Sensei Phil |
| 2017 | Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine · as Sinjin |
| 2016 | Breakout · as Cap Ruch |
| 2016 | Beyond the Game · as Trainer |
| 2015 | Black Salt · as Abbot Xiao |
| 2015 | Frankenstein · as Hotel Manager |
| 2015 | Marvel's Daredevil (TV Series) · as Blind Asian Man |
| 2014 | Bad Country · as Doctor |
| 2013 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation · as Chinese Leader |
| 2012 | The Girl from the Naked Eye · as Eddie |
| 2012 | |
| 2011 | Death Valley (TV Series) · as Man On Street (uncredited) |
| 2010 | Conan (2010) (TV Series) · as Benihana Chef ("ncaa Mascots That Should Never Dunk Contest!" Segment) |
| 2010 | Bite Me (TV Series) · as Specialized Zombie |
| 2010 | Mortal Kombat: Rebirth · as Shang Tsung |
| 2010 | Order of Chaos · as Lawyer #3 |
| 2009 | Ballistica · as Chinese Guard #1 |
| 2009 | Angel of Death · as Tommy |
| 2009 | Star Trek · as Romulan (uncredited) |
| 2009 | The Carbon Copy · as Thug |
| 2008 | Childrens Hospital (TV Series) · as Mosura |
| 2008 | Tropic Thunder · as Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited) |
| 2008 | Superhero Movie · as Shaolin Monk (uncredited) |
| 2007 | Chuck (TV Series) · as Anad Chenerad |
| 2007 | Rush Hour 3 · as Triad Assassin (uncredited) |
| 2006 | The Circuit III: Final Flight · as Spider Webb |
| 2006 | Fight Science (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 2006 | 18 Fingers of Death! · as Buford Lee |
| 2006 | Free Ride (TV Series) · as Referee |
| 2005 | Today You Die · as Ming's Gang #3 |
| 2005 | Numb3rs (TV Series) · as Waiter |
| 2005 | Shira: The Vampire Samurai · as Xu |
| 2004 | Entourage (TV Series) |
| 2003 | Eve (TV Series) |
| 2003 | Paris · as Mr. Fue |
| 2003 | Sin · as Leo Thamaree |
| 2002 | The Real Deal · as Black Belt |
| 2002 | Sting of the Black Scorpion · as Tong Leader |
| 2002 | Robbery Homicide Division (TV Series) · as Det. Peter Yang |
| 2002 | CSI: Miami (TV Series) · as Nd Man #1 |
| 2002 | She Spies (TV Series) · as Asian Thug |
| 2002 | Outside the Law · as Cho Sung |
| 2002 | Ultimate Fights from the Movies · as Knife #1 (timecop) (archive Footage) |
| 2001 | Alias (TV Series) · as Quan Li |
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 · as Triad Gangster (uncredited) |
| 2001 | Black Scorpion (TV Series) · as Red Dragon |
| 2000 | Traffic · as Dea Agent - Caltrans |
| 2000 | Deep Core · as Lou Chang |
| 2000 | Strong Medicine (TV Series) · as Cop |
| 2000 | Gedo · as James |
| 1999 | The Amanda Show (TV Series) · as Neeko |
| 1999 | Once And Again (TV Series) · as Master Kim |
| 1999 | Clubland · as Lipton T's Sidekick |
| 1998 | Martial Law (TV Series) · as Lee Hei's Thug |
| 1998 | Rush Hour · as Juntao's Man In Los Angeles (uncredited) |
| 1998 | High Voltage · as Harry |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 · as Freighter's Captain |
| 1998 | Safe House · as Asian (uncredited) |
| 1998 | Boogie Boy · as Jason |
| 1998 | The Replacement Killers · as Bodyguard |
| 1997 | |
| 1997 | The Girl Gets Moe · as Brez |
| 1997 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) · as Vampire |
| 1997 | Spy Game (TV Series) · as Killer |
| 1996 | Assault on Dome 4 · as Quaid, Windham Henchman |
| 1996 | Escape from L.A. · as Hershe Gang Member |
| 1996 | Balance of Power · as Shinji Takamura |
| 1996 | Night Hunter · as Tom Cutter |
| 1996 | For Life or Death · as Kaan Woo |
| 1996 | Robo Warriors · as Darius |
| 1996 | Fox Hunt · as Kung Fu Lew |
| 1995 | The Immortals · as Asian Man |
| 1995 | Baywatch Nights (TV Series) · as Asian Gang |
| 1995 | Deadly Games (TV Series) · as Benihana Chef |
| 1995 | Excessive Force II: Force on Force · as Lee |
| 1995 | Nowhere Man (TV Series) · as Thug With Knife |
| 1995 | Under Siege 2: Dark Territory · as Mercenary (uncredited) |
| 1995 | Midnight Man · as Prince Samarki |
| 1995 | Ballistic · as Woo |
| 1995 | Tough and Deadly · as Thug |
| 1995 | Marker (TV Series) |
| 1994 | Cage II · as Chin |
| 1994 | |
| 1994 | Red Sun Rising · as Jaho |
| 1994 | The Shadow · as Mongol |
| 1994 | Ring of Steel · as Asian Fighter |
| 1994 | Weird Science (TV Series) |
| 1994 | On Deadly Ground · as Mercenary At Aegis 1 (uncredited) |
| 1994 | Deadly Target · as Guard #2 (uncredited) |
| 1993 | Private Wars · as Obata |
| 1993 | |
| 1993 | Frasier (TV Series) · as Security Guard |
| 1993 | Undercover Blues · as Novacek's Man |
| 1993 | Power Rangers (TV Series) · as Warrior |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (TV Series) · as Chan Man |
| 1993 | Hot Shots! Part Deux · as Kick Boxer Opponent |
| 1993 | American Ninja 5 · as Viper |
| 1993 | Walker, Texas Ranger (TV Series) · as Tiger |
| 1993 | Babylon 5 (TV Series) · as Bloodhound Teep |
| 1993 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (TV Series) · as Fighter |
| 1993 | Space Rangers (TV Series) · as Alien |
| 1992 | A Mission to Kill · as Viet Cong |
| 1992 | Dark Vengeance · as Mantis |
| 1992 | Kill Fee · as Yakuza #5 |
| 1992 | Mission of Justice · as Akiro |
| 1992 | |
| 1992 | Rapid Fire · as Tau's Men At Laundry (uncredited) |
| 1992 | Raven (TV Series) · as Black Dragon, Jiro |
| 1992 | Raven: Return of the Black Dragons · as Black Dragon Henchman |
| 1991 | Martial Law II: Undercover · as Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited) |
| 1991 | Showdown in Little Tokyo · as Yoshida's Man (uncredited) |
| 1991 | |
| 1991 | Night of the Warrior · as Hector Sabatei |
| 1991 | The Perfect Weapon · as Crewcut |
| 1990 | |
| 1990 | China Cry: A True Story · as Kickboxer Instructor |
| 1990 | Martial Law · as Tong Member |
| 1990 | Aftershock · as Mr. James |
| 1990 | Nasty Boys (TV Series) · as Fighter / Karate Class Fighter (uncredited) |
| 1989 | Best of the Best · as Sae Jin Kwon |
| 1989 | Savage Beach · as Agent #1 |
| 1989 | Family Matters (TV Series) · as Man In Bar |
| 1989 | Nasty Boys · as Fighter |
| 1989 | Ninja Academy · as Ninja Trainer |
| 1988 | Roseanne (TV Series) |
| 1988 | Supercarrier (TV Series) · as Karate Fighter |
| 1988 | Noble House (TV Series) · as Bellhop |
| 1988 | Action Jackson · as Martial Arts Instructor |
| 1988 | |
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast (TV Series) |
| 1987 | Werewolf (TV Series) · as Henchman |
| 1987 | Steele Justice · as Mob Thug #5 |
| 1986 | Big Trouble in Little China · as Chang Sing #1 |
| 1985 | MacGyver (TV Series) · as Asian Thug |
| 1985 | Growing Pains (TV Series) · as Movie Villain #2 |
| 1985 | L.A. Streetfighters · as Chan |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Cambodian |
| 1984 | Three's a Crowd (TV Series) · as Soundman |
| 1984 | Santa Barbara (TV Series) · as Prison Guard |
| 1984 | |
| 1983 | Going Berserk · as Kung Fu Fighter |
| 1983 | The A-Team (TV Series) · as Byron Chin Men |
| 1982 | T.J. Hooker (TV Series) · as Ton Li / Asian Thug |
| 1981 | The Fall Guy (TV Series) · as Hitman |
| 1981 | Falcon Crest (TV Series) · as Winery Worker |
| 1979 | The Young Dragon · as Shao Lung |
| 1977 | Big Time · as Karate Instructor |
| 1976 | In Search of... (TV Series) · as King Tut |
| 1976 | Enforcer from Death Row · as Karate Fighter |
| 1976 | The Killing of a Chinese Bookie · as Guard (uncredited) |
| 1972 | Kung Fu (TV Series) · as Monk |
| 1963 | General Hospital (TV Series) · as Green Shirts Gang Man(1985) |