1952-09-06 ( 72 years old ) in Escalon, California, USA
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).
Movies
Made in Chinatown
2021-05-10
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
2018-12-15
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018-10-13
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
2017-05-08
Breakout
2016-06-09
Black Salt
2015-12-31
Frankenstein
2015-08-29
Elwood
2014-06-01
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013-03-27
The Girl from the Naked Eye
2012-06-15
Safe
2012-04-16
Ballistica
2009-12-18
Angel of Death
2009-07-07
Star Trek
2009-05-06
Tropic Thunder
2008-08-09
Superhero Movie
2008-03-28
Rush Hour 3
2007-08-08
The Circuit III: Final Flight
2006-10-31
18 Fingers of Death!
2006-04-11
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005-01-01
Sin
2003-01-01
The Real Deal
2002-11-27
Outside the Law
2002-06-25
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002-04-16
Rush Hour 2
2001-08-03
Traffic
2000-12-27
Deep Core
2000-10-21
Gedo
2000-04-04
Rush Hour
1998-09-18
Lethal Weapon 4
1998-07-10
Safe House
1998-07-01
Boogie Boy
1998-02-12
The Replacement Killers
1998-02-06
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
1997-04-23
Robo Warriors
1997-01-15
High Voltage
1997-01-01
Assault on Dome 4
1996-10-08
Escape from L.A.
1996-08-09
Balance of Power
1996-06-25
Night Hunter
1996-04-01
For Life or Death
1996-01-23
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
1995-08-29
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995-07-13
Midnight Man
1995-05-09
Ballistic
1995-02-28
Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994-12-14
Timecop
1994-09-15
Red Sun Rising
1994-09-01
The Shadow
1994-07-01
On Deadly Ground
1994-02-18
Deadly Target
1994-01-01
Private Wars
1993-10-13
Showdown
1993-09-16
Undercover Blues
1993-09-10
Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993-05-21
American Ninja 5
1993-04-02
Ulterior Motives
1993-01-06
Mission of Justice
1992-12-02
Rapid Fire
1992-08-21
Martial Law II: Undercover
1991-10-01
Showdown in Little Tokyo
1991-08-23
Do or Die
1991-06-28
Night of the Warrior
1991-06-01
The Perfect Weapon
1991-03-15
Guns
1990-11-09
Aftershock
1990-10-05
Martial Law
1990-10-01
Best of the Best
1989-11-10
Savage Beach
1989-10-01
Ninja Academy
1989-08-17
Evil Destroyer
1988-03-31
Action Jackson
1988-02-12
Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer
1988-01-01
Big Trouble in Little China
1986-05-30
Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985-03-23
Killpoint
1984-03-01
Going Berserk
1983-09-30
Young Dragon
1979-08-01
Big Time
1977-07-31
Enforcer from Death Row
1976-07-09
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976-02-15
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