
James Lew
Birthday: 1952-09-06
Place of Birth: Escalon, California, USA
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).

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, 1976
Thriller
Detective
Drama

Big Trouble in Little China, 1986
Comedy
Action
Fantasy

Action Jackson, 1988
Action
Comedy

Best of the Best, 1989
Action

Showdown in Little Tokyo, 1991
Action
Comedy
Detective

Rapid Fire, 1992
Action
Thriller

Hot Shots! Part Deux, 1993
Action
Comedy
War

Timecop, 1994
Thriller
Sci-Fi
Action
Detective

On Deadly Ground, 1994
Action

The Shadow, 1994
Fantasy
Action

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, 1995
Action
Thriller

Escape from L.A., 1996
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Thriller

Rush Hour, 1998
Action
Comedy
Detective

Lethal Weapon 4, 1998
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Detective
Thriller

The Replacement Killers, 1998
Action
Detective
Thriller

Traffic, 2000
Thriller
Drama
Detective

Rush Hour 2, 2001
Action
Comedy
Detective

Rush Hour 3, 2007
Action
Comedy
Detective

Tropic Thunder, 2008
Action
Comedy
Adventure
War

Superhero Movie, 2008
Comedy
Action
Sci-Fi

Star Trek, 2009
Sci-Fi
Action
Adventure

Safe, 2012
Action
Detective
Thriller

G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 2013
Action
Sci-Fi
Adventure