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.

5.865

Escape from L.A.
1996-08-09

4.741

Angel of Death
2009-07-07

4.64

Night Hunter
1996-04-01

American Ninja 5

4.799

American Ninja 5
1993-04-02

4.33

Do or Die
1991-06-28

5.4

Robo Warriors
1996-10-01

4.492

Savage Beach
1989-10-01

Ultimate Fights from the Movies

5.033

Ultimate Fights from the Movies
2002-04-16

6

Safe House
1998-07-01

The Girl from the Naked Eye

4.415

The Girl from the Naked Eye
2012-06-15

Los Angeles Streetfighter

5.033

Los Angeles Streetfighter
1985-03-23

6.145

Showdown
1993-09-16

6.188

Private Wars
1993-10-13

4.429

Aftershock
1990-10-05

5.182

Midnight Man
1995-05-09

5

High Voltage
1997-11-01

Best of the Best

6.47

Best of the Best
1989-11-10

The Circuit III: Street Monk

7.333

The Circuit III: Street Monk
2006-10-31

5.1

Going Berserk
1983-09-30

5.333

Big Time
1977-07-31

3.9

The Real Deal
2002-11-27

Balance of Power

5.867

Balance of Power
1996-06-25

2

Breakout
2016-06-09

The Perfect Weapon

6.402

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

3.95

Deep Core
2000-06-14

Big Trouble in Little China

7.211

Big Trouble in Little China
1986-05-30

4.38

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

3.841

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

5.292

Fatal Blade
2000-04-04

6.726

Tropic Thunder
2008-08-09

Excessive Force II: Force on Force

3.667

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

Cage II: The Arena of Death

3.3

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

4.2

Ninja Academy
1989-08-17

5.167

Killpoint
1984-03-01

4.775

Sin
2003-01-01

Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer

2

Zodiac Power 2: Evil Destroyer
1988-01-01

Shira: The Vampire Samurai

3.929

Shira: The Vampire Samurai
2005-01-01

7.085

Rush Hour
1998-09-18

6.039

Timecop
1994-09-15

Made in Chinatown

5.455

Made in Chinatown
2021-05-10

Cucuy: The Boogeyman

6.49

Cucuy: The Boogeyman
2018-10-13

Hot Shots! Part Deux

6.548

Hot Shots! Part Deux
1993-05-21

4.7

Guns
1990-11-09

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

5.664

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

4.938

Red Sun Rising
1994-09-01

Mission of Justice

6.7

Mission of Justice
1992-12-02

For Life or Death

5.6

For Life or Death
1996-01-23

5.4

Frankenstein
2015-08-29

Lethal Weapon 4

6.607

Lethal Weapon 4
1998-07-10

Assault on Dome 4

3.7

Assault on Dome 4
1996-10-08

Superhero Movie

5.331

Superhero Movie
2008-03-28

Outside the Law

4.25

Outside the Law
2002-06-25

Enforcer from Death Row

4.75

Enforcer from Death Row
1976-07-09

7.437

Star Trek
2009-05-06

Undercover Blues

6.023

Undercover Blues
1993-09-10

6.065

The Shadow
1994-07-01

7.088

Traffic
2000-12-27

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

7.028

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976-02-15

Ulterior Motives

4.2

Ulterior Motives
1993-01-06

5.976

Deadly Target
1994-01-01

On Deadly Ground

5.203

On Deadly Ground
1994-02-18

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

5.864

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1995-07-13

6.442

Rapid Fire
1992-08-21

Showdown in Little Tokyo

6.455

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

6.177

Martial Law
1990-10-01

Martial Law II: Undercover

6.101

Martial Law II: Undercover
1991-10-01

3.219

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

6.295

The Replacement Killers
1998-02-06

3.45

Ballistic
1995-02-28

6.777

Rush Hour 2
2001-08-03

6.501

Rush Hour 3
2007-08-08

5.517

Action Jackson
1988-02-12

2

Evil Destroyer
1988-03-31

2.333

Elwood
2014-06-01

Tough and Deadly

5.54

Tough and Deadly
1995-02-14

4.9

Ring of Steel
1994-03-30

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth

5.929

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
2010-06-08

Sting of the Black Scorpion

5.3

Sting of the Black Scorpion
2002-11-06

2

Let Lorenzo
2011-05-03

6.489

Growing Pains
1985-09-24

7.68

CSI: Miami
2002-09-23

6.81

Alias
2001-09-30

7.4

Entourage
2004-07-18

6.766

Roseanne
1988-10-18

Walker, Texas Ranger

7.004

Walker, Texas Ranger
1993-04-21

6.741

Family Matters
1989-09-22

6.661

Weird Science
1994-03-05

8.023

Babylon 5
1994-01-26

7.705

Chuck
2007-09-24

6.4

Nasty Boys
1990-02-22

7.703

Frasier
1993-09-16

Childrens Hospital

6.95

Childrens Hospital
2008-12-08

7.789

Nowhere Man
1995-08-28

7.091

Power Rangers
1993-08-28

7.035

Death Valley
2011-08-29

I'm Dying Up Here

6.429

I'm Dying Up Here
2017-06-04

7.709

MacGyver
1985-09-29

Strong Medicine

7.412

Strong Medicine
2000-07-23

5.5

Marker
1995-01-17

Murder, She Wrote

7.522

Murder, She Wrote
1984-09-30

8.5

Eve
2003-09-15

6.536

T. J. Hooker
1982-03-13

6.536

T. J. Hooker
1982-03-13