James Lew

James Lew

Birthday: 1952-09-06

Place of birth: Escalon, California, USA

Also known as: James Jene Fae Lew

imdb_id: nm0506699

Biography:

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).

Played in movies:

The Circuit III: Street Monk

Score: 10.0

Henchman: The Al Leong Story

Score: 9.5

Star Trek

Score: 7.4

Big Trouble in Little China

Score: 7.2

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Score: 7.1

Traffic

Score: 7.1

Rush Hour

Score: 7.1

Rush Hour 2

Score: 6.8

Mission of Justice

Score: 6.7

Tropic Thunder

Score: 6.7

Cucuy: The Boogeyman

Score: 6.6

Lethal Weapon 4

Score: 6.6

Hot Shots! Part Deux

Score: 6.5

Private Wars

Score: 6.5

Safe

Score: 6.5

Rush Hour 3

Score: 6.5

Best of the Best

Score: 6.5

Rapid Fire

Score: 6.4

Showdown in Little Tokyo

Score: 6.4

Made in Chinatown

Score: 6.3

The Replacement Killers

Score: 6.2

Martial Law II: Undercover

Score: 6.2

Safe House

Score: 6.2

The Perfect Weapon

Score: 6.2

Deadly Target

Score: 6.1

Martial Law

Score: 6.1

Balance of Power

Score: 6.1

The Shadow

Score: 6.1

Undercover Blues

Score: 6.0

Timecop

Score: 6.0

Escape from L.A.

Score: 5.9

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

Score: 5.9

Showdown

Score: 5.8

Gedo

Score: 5.7

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Score: 5.6

Action Jackson

Score: 5.5

Tough and Deadly

Score: 5.5

Killpoint

Score: 5.5

Frankenstein

Score: 5.4

High Voltage

Score: 5.3

Superhero Movie

Score: 5.3

On Deadly Ground

Score: 5.2

Robo Warriors

Score: 5.2

Midnight Man

Score: 5.1

Los Angeles Streetfighter

Score: 5.1

Ring of Steel

Score: 5.0

Going Berserk

Score: 5.0

Guns

Score: 4.9

Ultimate Fights from the Movies

Score: 4.9

Sin

Score: 4.9

Angel of Death

Score: 4.8

American Ninja 5

Score: 4.8

Night of the Warrior

Score: 4.6

Night Hunter

Score: 4.6

For Life or Death

Score: 4.5

Red Sun Rising

Score: 4.5

Boogie Boy

Score: 4.5

Savage Beach

Score: 4.5

Do or Die

Score: 4.4

Aftershock

Score: 4.4

The Girl from the Naked Eye

Score: 4.4

Ninja Academy

Score: 4.2

The Real Deal

Score: 4.1

Outside the Law

Score: 4.1

Ulterior Motives

Score: 4.0

Big Time

Score: 4.0

Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine

Score: 3.9

Deep Core

Score: 3.6

Enforcer from Death Row

Score: 3.5

Assault on Dome 4

Score: 3.4

Shira: The Vampire Samurai

Score: 3.3

Excessive Force II: Force on Force

Score: 3.3

Ballistica

Score: 3.2

Cage II: The Arena of Death

Score: 3.1

18 Fingers of Death!

Score: 3.1

Ballistic

Score: 2.9

Elwood

Score: 1.5

Evil Destroyer

Score: 0.0

Young Dragon

Score: 0.0

Raven: Return of the Black Dragons

Score: 0.0

Zodiac America 2: Evil Destroyer

Score: 0.0

Black Salt

Score: 0.0

Breakout

Score: 0.0

Played in tv shows:

Eve

Score: 9.1

Babylon 5

Score: 8.0

Chuck

Score: 7.7

CSI: Miami

Score: 7.7

MacGyver

Score: 7.7

Frasier

Score: 7.7

Nowhere Man

Score: 7.6

Murder, She Wrote

Score: 7.5

Beauty and the Beast

Score: 7.4

Entourage

Score: 7.4

Childrens Hospital

Score: 7.1

Strong Medicine

Score: 7.1

Power Rangers

Score: 7.1

Death Valley

Score: 7.0

Walker, Texas Ranger

Score: 7.0

Roseanne

Score: 6.8

Alias

Score: 6.8

Family Matters

Score: 6.7

Weird Science

Score: 6.7

Growing Pains

Score: 6.5

I'm Dying Up Here

Score: 6.5

T. J. Hooker

Score: 6.4

T. J. Hooker

Score: 6.4

Nasty Boys

Score: 5.5

Marker

Score: 4.0