Ma Dong-seok
Ma Dong-seok | |
---|---|
Born | Lee Dong-seok March 1, 1971 |
Other names | Don Lee |
Citizenship |
|
Education | Columbus State Community College |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2005–present |
Agent | Big Punch Entertainment |
Spouse |
Ye Jung-hwa (m. 2021) |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Ma Dong-seok |
McCune–Reischauer | Ma Tongsŏk |
Birth name | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | I Dong-seok |
McCune–Reischauer | I Tongsŏk |
Ma Dong-seok (born Lee Dong-seok on March 1, 1971), also known as Don Lee, is a South Korean–American actor. With his breakout performance in Train to Busan and subsequent leading roles, he has become one of South Korea's most successful actors. He was Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2018.
Career
Ma rose to fame for his supporting roles in the films The Neighbor, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, and The Unjust. He then played leading roles in Norigae, Murderer, and One on One.
Ma's role in the zombie film Train to Busan propelled him to international popularity. His subsequent leading roles in films Derailed, The Bros, The Outlaws, Unstoppable, Champion, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil, The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos and The Roundup along with supporting roles in Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days and Ashfall have met with critical and commercial successes led him to Most Bankable Star of Korean Cinema. Although known for his 'tough guy' persona roles, Ma is often celebrated and criticized for playing similar roles in his movies. In 2019, he joined the cast of the MCU film Eternals as Gilgamesh which marked his Hollywood debut.
On television, Ma is known for his roles in the hit OCN series Bad Guys and Squad 38.
In 2022, Ma signed a contract with LDH Japan, another large Japanese agency. His 2022 release action crime thriller The Roundup, sequel to his 2017 film The Outlaws not only opened to unanimous positive reviews but also became the highest grossing film of 2022 by surpassing 12 million admissions for the first time since 2019 and all time 3rd highest grosser in South Korea.
In 2024, dystopian film Badland Hunters in which Ma is playing role of wasteland hunter will be released on 26 January on Netflix.
Other activities
Under his Westernized name, Don Lee, and before he turned to acting, Ma was the personal trainer of mixed martial artists Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman.
With his production company Team Gorilla, Ma is currently involved in planning and writing screenplays. He worked on the screenplay for the film Deep Trap, in which he starred. He is also the co-creator of the OCN Dramatic Cinema series Team Bulldog: Off-Duty Investigation.
Armwrestling
Personal information | |
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Birth name | Lee Dong-seok |
Nickname | Don Lee |
Born | Seoul, South Korea | March 1, 1971
Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
Weight | 90 kg (199 lb) |
Ma has been an amateur armwrestler since 2008, and he became the president of Korea Armwrestling Federation in 2018.
Personal life
In 2016, Ma was reportedly dating sports reporter and media personality Ye Jung-hwa. On October 20, 2022, Ma's agency stated that he and Ye registered their marriage last year. The wedding ceremony will be held at a later date, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and busy schedules.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
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2012 | 33rd Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Neighbor | Nominated | |
2013 | 49th Baeksang Arts Awards | Won | |||
22nd Buil Film Awards | Nominated | ||||
17th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival | It Award | — | Won | ||
2016 | 5th APAN Star Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Squad 38 | Nominated | |
25th Buil Film Awards | Familyhood | Nominated | |||
37th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Train to Busan | Nominated | |||
2017 | 8th KOFRA Film Awards | Won | |||
11th Asian Film Awards | Nominated | ||||
53rd Baeksang Arts Awards | Nominated | ||||
22nd Chunsa Film Art Awards | Nominated | ||||
2018 | Golden Egg Awards | Best Actor | The Outlaws | Won | |
54th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor (Film) | Nominated | |||
23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | |||
2nd Korea China International Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | |||
2022 | Beautiful Artist Awards (Shin Young-kyun Arts and Culture Foundation) |
Film Artist Award | The Roundup | Won | |
9th Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Actor | Won | |||
2022 Kinolights Awards | Actor of The Year (Domestic) | 5th | |||
2023 | Visionary Awards | 2023 Visionary | — | Won | |
59th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor – Film | The Roundup | Nominated |
Listicles
Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cine21 | 2021 | Actors that will lead Korean Video Content Industry in 2022 | 6th | |
Gallup Korea | 2017 | Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year | 2nd | |
2018 | 1st | |||
2019 | 2nd | |||
2020 | 3rd | |||
2021 | 3rd | |||
2022 | 2nd | |||
2023 | 1st | |||
The Screen | 2019 | 2009-2019 Top Box Office Powerhouse Actors in Korean Movies | 10th |
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Male actors from Seoul
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- South Korean expatriates in the United States
- American male actors of Korean descent
- People with acquired American citizenship
- Best Supporting Actor Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners