Ma Dong-seok facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ma Dong-seok
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Ma at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
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| Born |
Lee Dong-seok
March 1, 1971 Seoul, South Korea
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| Other names |
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| Citizenship | United States | ||||||||||
| Education | Columbus State Community College | ||||||||||
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2005–present | ||||||||||
| Agent | Big Punch Entertainment | ||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Ye Jung-hwa
(m. 2021) |
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| Korean name | |||||||||||
| Hangul |
마동석
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| Hanja |
馬東錫
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| Revised Romanization | Ma Dongseok | ||||||||||
| McCune–Reischauer | Ma Tongsŏk | ||||||||||
| Birth name | |||||||||||
| Hangul |
이동석
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| Hanja |
李東錫
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| Revised Romanization | I Dongseok | ||||||||||
| McCune–Reischauer | I Tongsŏk | ||||||||||
Lee Dong-seok (Hangul: 이동석; born March 1, 1971) is an American actor and film producer. He is better known by his stage names Ma Dong-seok (Hangul: 마동석) and Don Lee. He works mostly in South Korea.
Ma Dong-seok became very famous after his role in the zombie movie Train to Busan (2016). Since then, he has played many main roles. He is now one of the most successful actors from South Korea. He was even named "Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year" in both 2018 and 2023.
Contents
Early life
Ma Dong-seok was born in South Korea. He was a South Korean citizen until he was 19 years old in 1989. After that, he became an American citizen. He moved back to South Korea when he was 30. That is when he started his acting career.
Career
Ma first became known for his roles that supported the main actors. These were in films like The Neighbor, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, and The Unjust. Later, he started playing main characters in movies such as Norigae, Murderer, and One on One.
His role in the zombie film Train to Busan made him famous around the world. After this, he starred in many successful films. These include Derailed, The Bros, and The Outlaws. Other popular movies were Unstoppable, Champion, and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil. He also appeared in The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos and The Roundup.
Ma is often known for playing "tough guy" characters. However, he is also praised for his acting skills. In 2019, he joined the cast of the MCU movie Eternals. He played the character Gilgamesh. This was his first role in a Hollywood film.
On television, Ma is well-known for his parts in the popular OCN series Bad Guys and Squad 38.
In 2022, Ma signed a contract with LDH Japan, a big Japanese entertainment company. His 2022 action movie The Roundup was a huge hit. It was a sequel to his 2017 film The Outlaws. This movie received great reviews and became the highest-earning film of 2022 in South Korea. It was also the third highest-earning South Korean film of all time.
In 2024, a movie called Badland Hunters was released on Netflix. In this dystopian film, Ma plays a wasteland hunter.
Other activities
Before he became an actor, Ma Dong-seok was a personal trainer. He trained famous mixed martial artists like Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman.
Ma also has his own production company called Team Gorilla. He helps plan and write screenplays for movies. He worked on the script for the film Deep Trap, in which he also acted. He is also one of the creators of the OCN series Team Bulldog: Off-Duty Investigation.
Armwrestling
Ma has been an amateur armwrestler since 2008. In 2018, he became the president of the Korea Armwrestling Federation.
Personal life
In 2016, news came out that Ma was dating sports reporter and TV personality Ye Jung-hwa. In October 2022, Ma's agency announced that he and Ye had officially registered their marriage in 2021. They plan to have a wedding ceremony later when their busy schedules allow.
Awards and recognition
Ma Dong-seok has won many awards for his acting. He won the "Best Supporting Actor" award at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2013 for his role in The Neighbor. He also won "Best Actor" at the Golden Egg Awards in 2018 for The Outlaws. In 2022, he received the "Film Artist Award" at the Beautiful Artist Awards. He was also named "Actor of the Year" at the 2022 Kinolights Awards.
He has been recognized by Gallup Korea as one of the top film actors. He was ranked first in 2018 and 2023.
Images for kids
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Ma in 2016
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See also
In Spanish: Ma Dong-seok para niños
