James Lew
Acting
Born: September 6, 1952 · Escalon, California, USA
Died: August 23, 2026 (aged 73)
Highest Rated
Biography
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).
Photos (1)
Movies (82)
Rush Hour
Juntao's Man in Los Angeles (uncredited)
Star Trek
Romulan (uncredited)
Rush Hour 2
Triad Gangster (uncredited)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Chinese Leader
Tropic Thunder
Flaming Dragon Compound Person (uncredited)
Big Trouble in Little China
Chang Sing #1
Rush Hour 3
Triad Assassin (uncredited)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Mercenary (uncredited)
Lethal Weapon 4
Freighter's Captain
Superhero Movie
Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Kick Boxer Opponent
Safe
Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
Traffic
DEA Agent - CalTrans
The Shadow
Mongol
Timecop
Knife #1
The Replacement Killers
Bodyguard
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
Escape from L.A.
Hershe Gang Member
On Deadly Ground
Mercenary at Aegis-1 (uncredited)
Best of the Best
Sae Jin Kwon
Action Jackson
Martial Arts Instructor
Rapid Fire
Tau's Men at Laundry (uncredited)
Undercover Blues
Novacek's Man
Martial Law II: Undercover
Spencer Hamilton Man (uncredited)
Do or Die
Lew
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Guard (uncredited)
Red Sun Rising
Jaho
Savage Beach
Agent #1
Mission of Justice
Akiro
American Ninja 5
Viper
The Perfect Weapon
Crewcut
Night Hunter
Tom Cutter
The Girl from the Naked Eye
Eddie
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
Knife #1 (Timecop) (archive footage)
Los Angeles Streetfighter
Chan
Frankenstein
Hotel Manager
Going Berserk
Kung Fu Fighter
Guns
Ninja #1
Sin
Leo Thamaree
High Voltage
Harry
Cage II: The Arena of Death
Chin
Deep Core
Lou Chang
Martial Law
Tong Member
Angel of Death
Tommy
Fatal Blade
James
Made in Chinatown
Kane
Ballistica
Chinese Guard #1
Boogie Boy
Jason
Showdown
Hit Man
Robo Warriors
Darius
Sting of the Black Scorpion
Tong Leader
Deadly Target
Guard #2 (uncredited)
The Real Deal
Black Belt
Tough and Deadly
Thug
Ninja Academy
Ninja Trainer
Outside the Law
Cho Sung
18 Fingers of Death!
Buford Lee
Night of the Warrior
Hector Sabatei
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
Sinjin
Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Shang Tsung (uncredited)
Cucuy: The Boogeyman
Beat Cop
Aftershock
Mr. James
For Life or Death
Kaan Woo
Midnight Man
Prince Samarki
Excessive Force II: Force on Force
Lee
Ballistic
Woo
Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
Black Dragon Henchman
Safe House
Asian (uncredited)
Assault on Dome 4
Quaid, Windham Henchman
Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
1988
Ring of Steel
Asian Fighter
Young Dragon
Shao Lung
Ulterior Motives
Yakuza #5
Balance of Power
Shinji Takamura
Elwood
Big O
Big Time
Karate Instructor
Killpoint
Nighthawk's Gunman #1
Private Wars
Obata
Breakout
Cap Ruch
Shira: The Vampire Samurai
Xu
Enforcer from Death Row
Karate Fighter
The Circuit III: Street Monk
Spider Webb
TV Shows (24)
Frasier
Security Guard · 1 eps
CSI: Miami
ND Man #1 · 1 eps
Entourage
1 eps
Babylon 5
Bloodhound Teep · 1 eps
Murder, She Wrote
Cambodian · 1 eps
MacGyver
Asian Thug · 1 eps
Strong Medicine
Cop · 1 eps
T. J. Hooker
Asian Thug · 1 eps
T. J. Hooker
Ton Li · 1 eps
Chuck
Anad Chenerad · 1 eps
Family Matters
Man in Bar · 1 eps
Childrens Hospital
Mosura · 1 eps
Walker, Texas Ranger
Tiger · 1 eps
Power Rangers
Warrior · 1 eps
Growing Pains
Movie Villain #2 · 1 eps
Weird Science
1 eps
Nowhere Man
Thug with Knife · 1 eps
Eve
1 eps
Alias
Quan Li · 1 eps
Death Valley
Man on street (uncredited) · 1 eps
Roseanne
1 eps
I'm Dying Up Here
Sensei Phil · 1 eps
Marker
1 eps
Nasty Boys
Fighter / Karate class fighter (uncredited) · 1 eps
Self / Appearances (1)
Upcoming (1)
Directing (5)
Writing (1)
Producing (2)
Other Crew (71)
Star Trek: Voyager
Stunt Coordinator
Avengers: Endgame
Stunts
Inception
Stunts
Westworld
Stunts
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Stunts
Rush Hour
Stunts
The Last Samurai
Stunts
Battleship
Stunt Double
Mulan
Stunts
Rush Hour 2
Stunts
Collateral
Stunts
Tropic Thunder
Stunts
Olympus Has Fallen
Stunts
Big Trouble in Little China
Martial Arts Choreographer
Rush Hour 3
Stunts
They Live
Stunts
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Stunts
Planet of the Apes
Stunts
Get Smart
Fight Choreographer
Superhero Movie
Stunts
Double Impact
Stunt Coordinator
Double Impact
Martial Arts Choreographer
Double Impact
Stunts
Safe
Stunts
Escape Plan 2: Hades
Stunt Coordinator
Killers
Fight Choreographer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Fight Choreographer
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Stunts
Escape from L.A.
Stunts
Mr. Right
Fight Choreographer
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
Stunts
Dominique
Fight Choreographer
On Deadly Ground
Stunts
Mad Families
Stunt Coordinator
Impostor
Stunts
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
Stunts
Black Dynamite
Stunts
Rapid Fire
Stunts
Streets of Blood
Stunts
Undercover Blues
Stunts
Martial Law II: Undercover
Stunts
Kazaam
Stunts
Maximum Impact
Fight Choreographer
Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser
Stunt Coordinator
Extraction
Stunt Coordinator
Double Tap
Stunts
Flight of the Living Dead
Stunts
Why Me?
Stunts
Girls of the White Orchid
Stunts
Guns
Stunt Coordinator
Underdog Kids
Stunt Coordinator
Forbidden Warrior
Stunts
Blue Tiger
Stunts
They Call Me Bruce?
Stunt Double
Robo Warriors
Stunt Coordinator
Ring of Fire
Stunts
Instinct to Kill
Stunt Coordinator
Hijacked
Stunt Coordinator
Ninja Academy
Stunt Coordinator
Outside the Law
Fight Choreographer
18 Fingers of Death!
Stunt Coordinator
The Martial Arts Kid
Fight Choreographer
No Rules
Stunts
Aftershock
Stunt Coordinator
Ballistic
Stunt Coordinator
The Girl Gets Moe
Stunts
Dark World
Stunt Coordinator
The Fantastic Seven
Stunts
LArceny
Stunts
Dark Vengeance
Stunt Coordinator
American Bistro
Stunt Coordinator