James Lew

American martial artist, stunt performer and actor

Pamela Gidley

(m. 2005; div. 2008)

Jordanna Potter

(m. 2014)

ChildrenRyan Potter (stepson)

James Jene Fae Lew^[1] (born September 6, 1952) is an American martial artist, stuntman, and actor. He has made 80 on-screen film and television appearances and 46 more as a stunt coordinator or stunt double. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for his work on the series Luke Cage.^[2]^[3]

Biography

Of Chinese extraction, Lew was born in Escalon, California and raised in South Los Angeles. He began studying martial arts at the age of 14, when he began taking classes in Tang Soo Do and Choy Li Fut.^[4]^[5] He is practiced in Bak Mei Pai and Five Animals kung fu,^[4] Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, boxing, and submission grappling. In the 1970s, he co-founded Sil Lung Kung Fu demo team with Al Leong and Douglas Lim Wong, and won several championships in martial arts forms.^[6]

An early role for Lew was as a guard in the John Cassavetes 1976 film, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.^[7]

Lew had a role in the Frank Harris directed action film Killpoint, which starred Leo Fong, Richard Roundtree, Cameron Mitchell and Stack Pierce.^[8]

In 2017, he acted in the Mark Steven Grove directed sci-fi film Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine, which also starred Casper Van Dien, Cynthia Rothrock, Sara Salazar, and Tyler Weaver Jr.^[9]

Personal life

Lew was married to Pamela Gidley from 2005 to 2008. Lew married Jordanna Alex Potter (Glaskin) in 2014 and is now stepfather to Ryan Potter, who plays Gar Logan/Beast Boy on the HBO Max series Titans.

Books

The Art of Stretching and Kicking (2018), ISBN 978-0934489102

Selected filmography

1976 The Killing of a Chinese Bookie as Asian Guard (uncredited)
1976 Enforcer from Death Row as Karate Fighter
1977 Big Time as Karate Instructor
1979 Young Dragon as Shao Lung
1983 Going Berserk as Kung Fu Fighter
1984 Killpoint as Nighthawk's Gunman #1
1985 Ninja Turf as Chan
1986 Big Trouble in Little China as Chang Sing #1
1987 Steele Justice as Mob Thug #5 (uncredited)
1988 Action Jackson as Martial Arts Instructor
1989 Ninja Academy as Ninja Trainer
1989 Savage Beach as Agent #1
1989 Best of the Best as Sae Jin Kwon
1990 Aftershock as Mr. James
1990 China Cry as Kickboxer Instructor
1990 Guns as Ninja #1
1991 The Perfect Weapon as Crewcut
1991 Night of the Warrior as Hector Sabatei
1991 Do or Die as Lew
1991 Showdown in Little Tokyo as Yoshida's Man (uncredited)
1991 Double Impact as Unknown
1992 Rapid Fire as Tau's Man At Laundry (uncredited)
1992 Ulterior Motives as Yakuza #5
1992 Dark Vengeance as 'Mantis'
1992 A Mission to Kill as Viet Cong (uncredited)
1993 American Ninja V as 'Viper'
1993 Hot Shots! Part Deux as Kick Boxer Opponent
1993 Undercover Blues as Novacek's Man
1993 Showdown as Hit Man
1994 On Deadly Ground as Mercenary At Aegis 1 (uncredited)
1994 Ring of Steel as Asian Fighter
1994 The Shadow as Mongol
1994 Red Sun Rising as Jaho
1994 Timecop as Knife #1
1994 Deadly Target as Guard #2 (uncredited)
1994 Cage II as Chin
1995 Ballistic as Woo
1995 Midnight Man as Prince Samarki
1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory as Mercenary (uncredited)
1995 Excessive Force II: Force on Force as Lee
1995 The Immortals as Asian Man
1996 Night Hunter as Tom Cutter
1996 Balance of Power (1996) as Shinji Takamura
1996 Escape from L.A. as Saigon Shadows Gang Member (uncredited)
1996 For Life or Death as Kaan Woo
1996 Robo Warriors as Darius
1996 Fox Hunt as 'Kung Fu' Lew
1997 Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Vampire
1997 The Girl Gets Moe as Brez
1997 Red Corner as Unknown
1997 High Voltage as Harry
1998 The Replacement Killers as Bodyguard
1998 Boogie Boy as Jason
1998 Safe House as Asian (uncredited)
1998 Lethal Weapon 4 as Freighter's Captain
1998 Rush Hour as Juntao's Man In Los Angeles (uncredited)
1999 Clubland as Lipton T's Sidekick
2000 Deep Core as Lou Chang
2000 Traffic as DEA Agent At CalTrans
2001 Rush Hour 2 as Triad Gangster (uncredited)
2002 Outside the Law as Cho Sung
2002 The Real Deal as Black Belt
2003 Paris as Mr. Fue
2003 Sin as Leo Thamaree
2004 The Perfect Party as Daddy
2006 18 Fingers of Death! as Buford Lee
2006 The Hitman Chronicles as Draga
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as Asian Pirate (uncredited)
2007 Rush Hour 3 as Triad Assassin (uncredited)
2008 Superhero Movie as Shaolin Monk (uncredited)
2008 Tropic Thunder as Flaming Dragon Member At Compound (uncredited)
2009 Star Trek as Romulan (uncredited)
2009 The Carbon Copy as Thug
2009 Angel of Death as Tommy
2009 Ballistica as Chinese Guard #1
2009 Nephilim as Unknown
2010 Chuck as Anad Chenerad
2010 Taken by Force as Choy
2010 Inception as Unknown
2012 The Girl from the Naked Eye as Eddie
2012 Safe as Underground Casino Guard (uncredited)
2012 Sleeping Dogs as Sifu Kwok (voice)
2012 Battleship as Unknown
2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation as Chinese Leader
2014 Bad Country as Doctor
2014 Tengu, The Immortal Blade as Asura
2015 Frankenstein as Hotel Manager
2016 Beyond the Game as Unknown
2016 Breakout as Captain Rusch
2017 Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine as Sinjin
2018 Cucuy: The Boogeyman as Beat Cop
2019 American Bistro as Angry Man #1

References

^ James Lew Biography (1952-)
^ "James Lew Emmy Award". Emmy Awards. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
^ Danna, Corey. "Life is Good: Catching Up With James Lew". Kung Fu Magazine.
^ ^a ^b "Interview with James Lew - The Wing Kong Exchange". 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
^ Interviews (2015-06-10). "Interview with James Lew - The Action Elite". theactionelite.com. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
^ McNEIL, JASON. "8 Things You Didn't Know About James Lew - Black Belt Magazine". Everand. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
^ Famous Fix - James Lew » Characters
^ The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999, By Paul Mavis- Page 167 799. Killpoint
^ Trailer Addict - Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine (2017)