Jim James
|
Biography
One of few Americans (European) actors who got the rare opportunity to act in kung-fu movies and ended up making a name for himself as a villain. Not much on technique, but can take a pretty good beating (HPB). He's usually seen as a boxer or a wrestler, but whatever he plays, he's never a good guy. He (probably) had his best showing, in Soul Brothers Of Kung Fu, going up against Bruce Li. Here, he actually had a role, where most of the time he's on the screen could best be called a cameo. It would seem his skills decreased long before the kung-fu era began to die down.
He doesn't rate very highly as premiere villain, though he does fall down really well. In A Hard Way To Die, he played a country boy, when his fighting Billy Chong, he's wearing kung-fu shoes. It seems, the Chinese had a thing against the Japanese and everybody, had something against Americans in these films. He was the most famous recognizable (white) person in Kung Fu films at that time. A quick eye (and a Pause button) will catch him at the end of The Chinese Connection (possible he first martial-arts film), as one of the men who shot at Bruce Lee during his final scene.