James Lew
James Jene Fae Lew (September 6, 1952 – August 23, 2026) was an American martial artist, stuntman and actor. 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).
Fotos
Películas (132)
Dominique
2024 · Fight Choreographer
Booba
2023 · Stunt Coordinator
Made in Chinatown
2021 · Kane, Director, Co-Producer, Action Director
Mulan
2020 · Stunts
American Bistro
2019 · Stunt Coordinator
Vengadores: Endgame
2019 · Stunts
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
2018 · Self
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018 · Beat Cop
Escape Plan 2: Hades
2018 · Stunt Coordinator
Maximum Impact
2017 · Fight Choreographer, Second Unit Director
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
2017 · Sinjin
Mad Families
2017 · Stunt Coordinator
Breakout
2016 · Cap Ruch
Mr. Right
2016 · Fight Choreographer
Black Salt
2015 · Abbot Xiao
Frankenstein
2015 · Hotel Manager
Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser
2015 · Stunt Coordinator
Underdog Kids
2015 · Second Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator
The Martial Arts Kid
2015 · Fight Choreographer
Elwood
2014 · Big O
Extraction
2013 · Stunt Coordinator
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013 · Chinese Leader
Olympus Has Fallen
2013 · Stunts
Hijacked
2012 · Stunt Coordinator
The Girl from the Naked Eye
2012 · Eddie
Safe
2012 · Underground Casino Guard (uncredited), Stunts
Battleship
2012 · Stunt Double
Let Lorenzo
2011 · Interior Design Older Partner
El Origen
2010 · Stunts
Killers
2010 · Fight Choreographer
Ballistica
2009 · Chinese Guard #1
Black Dynamite
2009 · Stunts
Angel of Death
2009 · Tommy
Streets of Blood
2009 · Stunts
Star Trek
2009 · Romulan (uncredited)
Tropic Thunder
2008 · Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited), Stunts
Get Smart
2008 · Fight Choreographer
Superhero Movie
2008 · Shaolin Monk (uncredited), Stunts
Dark World
2008 · Stunt Coordinator
Rush Hour 3
2007 · Triad Assassin (uncredited), Stunts
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
2007 · Stunts
Flight of the Living Dead
2007 · Stunts
The Circuit III: Street Monk
2006 · Spider Webb
18 Fingers of Death!
2006 · Buford Lee, Stunt Coordinator, Writer, Director
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005 · Xu
No Rules
2005 · Stunts
Collateral
2004 · Stunts
LArceny
2004 · Stunts
Forbidden Warrior
2004 · Stunts
The Last Samurai
2003 · Stunts
Sin
2003 · Leo Thamaree
The Real Deal
2002 · Black Belt
Sting of the Black Scorpion
2002 · Tong Leader
Outside the Law
2002 · Cho Sung, Fight Choreographer
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002 · Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
2002 · Stunts
Impostor
2001 · Stunts
Instinct to Kill
2001 · Stunt Coordinator
Rush Hour 2
2001 · Triad Gangster (uncredited), Stunts
Planet of the Apes
2001 · Stunts
Traffic
2000 · DEA Agent - CalTrans
Deep Core
2000 · Lou Chang
Fatal Blade
2000 · James
Rush Hour
1998 · Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited), Stunts
Lethal Weapon 4
1998 · Freighter's Captain
Safe House
1998 · Asian (uncredited)
Boogie Boy
1998 · Jason
The Replacement Killers
1998 · Bodyguard
High Voltage
1997 · Harry
The Girl Gets Moe
1997 · Stunts
Double Tap
1997 · Stunts
Assault on Dome 4
1996 · Quaid, Windham Henchman
Robo Warriors
1996 · Darius, Stunt Coordinator
Escape from L.A.
1996 · Hershe Gang Member, Stunts
Kazaam
1996 · Stunts
Balance of Power
1996 · Shinji Takamura
Night Hunter
1996 · Tom Cutter
For Life or Death
1996 · Kaan Woo
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
1995 · Lee
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995 · Mercenary (uncredited), Stunts
Midnight Man
1995 · Prince Samarki
Ballistic
1995 · Woo, Stunt Coordinator
Tough and Deadly
1995 · Thug
Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994 · Chin
Timecop
1994 · Knife #1
Red Sun Rising
1994 · Jaho
The Shadow
1994 · Mongol
Blue Tiger
1994 · Stunts
Ring of Steel
1994 · Asian Fighter
On Deadly Ground
1994 · Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited), Stunts
Deadly Target
1994 · Guard #2 (uncredited)
Private Wars
1993 · Obata
Showdown
1993 · Hit Man
Undercover Blues
1993 · Novacek's Man, Stunts
Dark Vengeance
1993 · Stunt Coordinator
Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993 · Kick Boxer Opponent
American Ninja 5
1993 · Viper
Ulterior Motives
1993 · Yakuza #5
Mission of Justice
1992 · Akiro
Rapid Fire
1992 · Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited), Stunts
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1992 · Fight Choreographer
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
1992 · Black Dragon Henchman
Ring of Fire
1991 · Stunts
Martial Law II: Undercover
1991 · Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited), Stunts
Showdown in Little Tokyo
1991 · Yoshida's Man (uncredited), Stunts
Double Impact
1991 · Stunt Coordinator, Martial Arts Choreographer, Stunts
Do or Die
1991 · Lew
Night of the Warrior
1991 · Hector Sabatei
The Perfect Weapon
1991 · Crewcut
Guns
1990 · Ninja #1, Stunt Coordinator
Aftershock
1990 · Mr. James, Stunt Coordinator
Martial Law
1990 · Tong Member
Why Me?
1990 · Stunts
Best of the Best
1989 · Sae Jin Kwon
Savage Beach
1989 · Agent #1
Ninja Academy
1989 · Ninja Trainer, Stunt Coordinator
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
1989 · Stunts
They Live
1988 · Stunts
Evil Destroyer
1988
Action Jackson
1988 · Martial Arts Instructor
Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
Big Trouble in Little China
1986 · Chang Sing #1, Associate Producer, Martial Arts Choreographer
Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985 · Chan
Killpoint
1984 · Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Girls of the White Orchid
1983 · Stunts
Going Berserk
1983 · Kung Fu Fighter
They Call Me Bruce?
1982 · Stunt Double
Young Dragon
1979 · Shao Lung
The Fantastic Seven
1979 · Stunts
Big Time
1977 · Karate Instructor
Enforcer from Death Row
1976 · Karate Fighter
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976 · Guard (uncredited)
Series (25)
I'm Dying Up Here
2017 · Sensei Phil
Westworld
2016 · Stunts
Death Valley
2011 · Man on street (uncredited)
Childrens Hospital
2008 · Mosura
Chuck
2007 · Anad Chenerad
Entourage
2004
Eve
2003
CSI: Miami
2002 · ND Man #1
Alias
2001 · Quan Li
Strong Medicine
2000 · Cop
Nowhere Man
1995 · Thug with Knife
Marker
1995
Star Trek: Voyager
1995 · Stunt Coordinator
Weird Science
1994
Babylon 5
1994 · Bloodhound Teep
Frasier
1993 · Security Guard
Power Rangers
1993 · Warrior
Walker, Texas Ranger
1993 · Tiger
Nasty Boys
1990 · Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited)
Family Matters
1989 · Man in Bar
Roseanne
1988
MacGyver
1985 · Asian Thug
Growing Pains
1985 · Movie Villain #2
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Cambodian
T. J. Hooker
1982 · Asian Thug, Ton Li