Ma Dong-seok
Lee Dong-seok, better known by the stage names Ma Dong-seok and Don Lee, is a South Korean and American actor and film producer based in South Korea. He gained early recognition for his supporting roles in Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time and The Neighbor.
Ma rose to prominence with his breakout performance in Train to Busan, where he played a tough yet compassionate survivor, earning widespread acclaim. He cemented his status as a leading action star with The Outlaws, in which he portrayed the relentless detective Ma Seok-do, a role he reprised in the highly successful The Roundup film series. His subsequent leading roles include Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil, The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos, Start-Up, and Ashfall.
In 2021, Ma made his Hollywood debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals, which further expanded his global recognition. He remains one of South Korea's most bankable stars and was named Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2018, 2023, and 2024.
Early life
Ma was born in South Korea. He had South Korean citizenship until 1989, after which he forfeited his South Korean citizenship and became an American citizen. He returned to South Korea at age 30 and began acting.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 was released on 26 January on Netflix.
In 2026 he is set to star in an action-adventure videogame developed by Nagoshi Studio, founded by Toshihiro Nagoshi entitled Gang of Dragon.
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.