James Tien
(Tien Chun)
Actor
James Tien is an actor who spent the majority of his career as a bad guy, but was initially
known as a good guy- playing the loyal Ching Wu student who defended his deceased
Master's altar in The Chinese Connection. Though he had leading roles in Wong Ting Lam's
The Chase, Huang Ta's Shaolin Boxers, and Yip Wing Cho's The Blade Spares None,
Tien would find his place as a solid supporting player in the remainder of his career.
The films he made for Lo Wei placed him with 70's superstars Jackie Chan, Jimmy Wang
Yu and Bruce Lee, but when the traditional kung fu boom subsided, James Tien took
his effective villain persona into the modern era, appearing in a crop of successful
Golden Harvest action / comedies.
Thanks largely to Sammo Hung, James Tien stayed visible all throughout the 1980's,
turning up in cameos or featured villain roles in the bulk of Sammo's work. After all those
years, Tien's bad guy act never grew stale, which might explain why he so seldom
played a hero in his career. However, his performance as Jackie Chan's grandfather
in The Fearless Hyena was an especially poignant one. In The Dragon Tamers, one
of the two films he made with director John Woo, James starred with Carter Wong
where he got to display his more chivalrous tendencies.
James Tien Filmography
| The Big Boss 1 | |
| Blade of Fury | |
| The Blade Spares None | |
| The Bone Crushing Kid | |
| Carry On, Pickpocket | |
| The Chase | |
| The Chinese Connection 2 | |
| Dragon Fist | |
| 1975 | The Dragon Tamers |
| Dragons Forever (c) | |
| 1987 | Eastern Condors (c) |
| The Fearless Hyena | |
| The Fearless Hyena II | |
| Full Moon Scimitar | |
| Gambling Ghost | |
| Game of Death 3 | |
| Hand of Death 4 | |
| Half a Loaf of Kung Fu! | |
| 1985 | Heart of the Dragon |
| The Iron-Fisted Monk | |
| The Last Message | |
| Last Eunuch in China (c) | |
| Lee Rock | |
| Lucky Stars Go Places | |
| A Man Called Tiger | |
| Magnificent Bodyguards | |
| Millionaire's Express | |
| Money Maker | |
| Mr. Vampire 2 (c) | |
| My Cousin, the Ghost | |
| 1985 | My Lucky Stars (c) |
| Naked Comes the Huntress 5 | |
| None But the Brave | |
| Owl vs. Bumbo | |
| 1990 | Pantyhose Hero (c) |
| 1984 | Pom Pom |
| The Prodigal Son | |
| Renegade Master | |
| The Return of Pom Pom | |
| 1986 | Righting Wrongs |
| 1986 | Rosa |
| Seaman No. 7 | |
| Shaolin Boxers | |
| Spiritual Kung Fu | |
| The Tattooed Dragon | |
| Thunderbolt | |
| 1985 | Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars |
| Winners and Sinners | |
| 1985 | Yes, Madam |
c = cameo
1 aka Fists of Fury
2 aka Fist of Fury
3 incomplete footage- released in documentary
Bruce Lee- A Warrior's Journey (1999)
4 aka Countdown in Kung Fu
5 aka Shaolin Iron Finger
James Tien in Yes, Madam.
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