Ma Dong-seok facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ma Dong-seok
Ma at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Lee Dong-seok (1971-03-01) March 1, 1971 (age 54) Seoul, South Korea
Other names	Don Lee Ma Dong-seok
Citizenship	United States
Education	Columbus State Community College
Occupation	Actor film producer
Years active	2005–present
Agent	Big Punch Entertainment
Spouse(s)	Ye Jung-hwa [ko] ​ (m. 2021)​
Ma Dong-seok Personal information Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) Weight 90 kg (200 lb) Sport Sport Arm wrestling
Korean name
Hangul	마동석
Hanja	馬東錫
Revised Romanization	Ma Dongseok
McCune–Reischauer	Ma Tongsŏk
Birth name
Hangul	이동석
Hanja	李東錫
Revised Romanization	I Dongseok
McCune–Reischauer	I Tongsŏk

Lee Dong-seok (Hangul: 이동석; born March 1, 1971), better known by the stage names Ma Dong-seok (Hangul: 마동석) and Don Lee, is an American actor and film producer based in South Korea. With his breakout performance in Train to Busan (2016) and subsequent leading roles, he has become one of the most successful actors from South Korea. He was Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2018 and in 2023.

Early life

Ma was born in South Korea. He had South Korean citizenship until 1989 (when he was aged 19), 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.

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.

Ma in 2016

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

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 [ko]. On October 20, 2022, Ma's agency stated that he and Ye had registered their marriage the previous year. The wedding ceremony would be held at a later date, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and busy schedules.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Listicles

See also

In Spanish: Ma Dong-seok para niños