James Lew, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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James Lew
Acting

James Lew
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1952-09-06,Escalon, California, USA
Gender
Male
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).

Filmography

Escape from L.A.

5.862

Escape from L.A.
1996-08-09

4.7

Angel of Death
2009-07-07

4.6

Night Hunter
1996-04-01

American Ninja 5

4.8

American Ninja 5
1993-04-02

4.3

Do or Die
1991-06-28

5.5

Robo Warriors
1996-10-01

4.5

Savage Beach
1989-10-01

Ultimate Fights from the Movies

5

Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002-04-16

5.9

Safe House
1998-07-01

The Girl from the Naked Eye

4.4

The Girl from the Naked Eye
2012-06-15

Los Angeles Streetfighter

5

Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985-03-23

6.3

Showdown
1993-09-16

6.2

Private Wars
1993-10-13

4.5

Aftershock
1990-10-05

5.1

Midnight Man
1995-05-09

5.1

High Voltage
1997-11-01

Best of the Best

6.5

Best of the Best
1989-11-10

The Circuit III: Street Monk

7.3

The Circuit III: Street Monk
2006-10-31

5.1

Going Berserk
1983-09-30

5.3

Big Time
1977-07-31

3.9

The Real Deal
2002-11-27

Balance of Power

5.9

Balance of Power
1996-06-25

2

Breakout
2016-06-09

The Perfect Weapon

6.4

The Perfect Weapon
1991-03-15

Henchman: The Al Leong Story

7

Henchman: The Al Leong Story
2018-12-15

2

Black Salt
2015-12-31

4

Deep Core
2000-06-14

Big Trouble in Little China

7.2

Big Trouble in Little China
1986-05-30

4.4

Boogie Boy
1998-02-12

Night of the Warrior

4.8

Night of the Warrior
1991-06-01

Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine

3.8

Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine
2017-05-08

5.3

Fatal Blade
2000-04-04

6.73

Tropic Thunder
2008-08-09

Excessive Force II: Force on Force

3.7

Excessive Force II: Force on Force
1995-08-29

Cage II: The Arena of Death

3.2

Cage II: The Arena of Death
1994-12-14

4.2

Ninja Academy
1989-08-17

5.2

Killpoint
1984-03-01

4.8

Sin
2003-01-01

Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer

2

Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
1988-01-01

Shira: The Vampire Samurai

3.9

Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005-01-01

7.089

Rush Hour
1998-09-18

6.032

Timecop
1994-09-15

Made in Chinatown

5.5

Made in Chinatown
2021-05-10

Cucuy: The Boogeyman

6.5

Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018-10-13

Hot Shots! Part Deux

6.55

Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993-05-21

4.8

Guns
1990-11-09

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

5.667

G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013-03-27

5

Red Sun Rising
1994-09-01

Mission of Justice

6.6

Mission of Justice
1992-12-02

For Life or Death

5.3

For Life or Death
1996-01-23

5.4

Frankenstein
2015-08-29

Lethal Weapon 4

6.612

Lethal Weapon 4
1998-07-10

Assault on Dome 4

3.7

Assault on Dome 4
1996-10-08

Superhero Movie

5.335

Superhero Movie
2008-03-28

Outside the Law

4.2

Outside the Law
2002-06-25

Enforcer from Death Row

4.8

Enforcer from Death Row
1976-07-09

7.439

Star Trek
2009-05-06

Undercover Blues

6

Undercover Blues
1993-09-10

6.076

The Shadow
1994-07-01

7.1

Traffic
2000-12-27

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

7

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976-02-15

Ulterior Motives

4.2

Ulterior Motives
1993-01-06

6

Deadly Target
1994-01-01

On Deadly Ground

5.2

On Deadly Ground
1994-02-18

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

5.9

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995-07-13

6.4

Rapid Fire
1992-08-21

Showdown in Little Tokyo

6.5

Showdown in Little Tokyo
1991-08-23

18 Fingers of Death!

3.5

18 Fingers of Death!
2006-04-11

6.5

Safe
2012-04-16

6.2

Martial Law
1990-10-01

Martial Law II: Undercover

6.1

Martial Law II: Undercover
1991-10-01

3.2

Ballistica
2009-12-18

Raven: Return of the Black Dragons

5

Raven: Return of the Black Dragons
1992-06-19

5.5

Young Dragon
1979-08-01

The Replacement Killers

6.3

The Replacement Killers
1998-02-06

3.5

Ballistic
1995-02-28

6.784

Rush Hour 2
2001-08-03

6.503

Rush Hour 3
2007-08-08

5.531

Action Jackson
1988-02-12

2

Evil Destroyer
1988-03-31

2.3

Elwood
2014-06-01

Tough and Deadly

5.5

Tough and Deadly
1995-02-14

4.9

Ring of Steel
1994-03-30

Sting of the Black Scorpion

5.3

Sting of the Black Scorpion
2002-11-06

2

Let Lorenzo
2011-05-03

6.5

Growing Pains
1985-09-24

7.7

CSI: Miami
2002-09-23

6.8

Alias
2001-09-30

7.4

Entourage
2004-07-18

6.8

Roseanne
1988-10-18

Walker, Texas Ranger

7

Walker, Texas Ranger
1993-04-21

6.8

Family Matters
1989-09-22

6.6

Weird Science
1994-03-05

8.033

Babylon 5
1994-01-26

7.7

Chuck
2007-09-24

6.4

Nasty Boys
1990-02-22

7.7

Frasier
1993-09-16

Childrens Hospital

7

Childrens Hospital
2008-12-08

7.8

Nowhere Man
1995-08-28

7.1

Power Rangers
1993-08-28

7

Death Valley
2011-08-29

I'm Dying Up Here

6.5

I'm Dying Up Here
2017-06-04

7.7

MacGyver
1985-09-29

Strong Medicine

7.4

Strong Medicine
2000-07-23

5.5

Marker
1995-01-17

Murder, She Wrote

7.524

Murder, She Wrote
1984-09-30

8.5

Eve
2003-09-15

6.5

T. J. Hooker
1982-03-13

6.5

T. J. Hooker
1982-03-13