Ma Dong-seok (마동석, born 1971, occasionally credited as Don Lee) is a South Korean-Americannote actor.
He has been acting since the 2000s in his native South Korea, ranging from supporting roles in The Good, The Bad, The Weird and The Neighbor to lead roles in One On One and The Villagers. He is best known to international audiences for his roles in the zombie film Train to Busan and the Marvel Cinematic Universe entry Eternals. A physical trainer before he became an actor, he tends to play irritable tough guys who knock people across the room when pushed too far.
Not to be confused with Don Lee, the author of Yellow, or the singer of the country song "16 Lovin' Ounces to the Pound".
Filmography:
- The Moonlight Of Seoul (2008): Chang-woo
- The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008): Gom
- Insandong Scandal (2009): Sang-bok
- Midnight FM (2010): Son Deok-tae
- The Unjust (2010): Ma Dae-ho
- Dr Champ (2010): Oh Jung Dae
- Pained (2011): Bum-no
- Perfect Game (2011): Park Man-soo
- The Neighbor (2012): Ahn Hyuk-mo
- Shut Up Flower Boy Band (2012): Teacher Silva
- Rockin On Heavens Door (2012): Mu-seong
- The Flu (2013): Jeon Gook-hwan
- Marriage Blue (2013): Geon-ho
- The Five (2013): Jang Dae-ho
- One On One (2014): Leader of Shadow
- Kundo Age Of The Rampant (2014): Chun-bo
- Bad Guys (2014): Park Woong-cheol
- The Chronicles Of Evil (2015): Detective Oh
- Deep Trap (2015): Park Sung-chul
- Familyhood (2016): Park Pyung-goo
- Train to Busan (2016): Sang-hwa
- Squad 38 (2016): Baek Sung-il
- Crime City series (2017-): Ma Seok-do
- The Outlaws (2017)
- The Roundup (2022): Ma Seok-do
- The Bros (2017): Lee Seok-bong
- Champion (2018): Mark
- Along With The Gods The Last 49 Days (2018): God of House
- The Villagers (2018): Yeok Gi-cheol
- The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (2019): Jang Dong-soo
- Ashfall (2019): Kang Bong-rae
- Eternals (2021): Gilgamesh
Tropes applying to his career:
- The Big Guy: He tends to play tough guys. In both Train to Busan and Eternals he's the team bruiser who fights up close and kicks a lot of ass.
- Boxing Battler: He's trained in Boxing since he was a kid and his characters use it as their main fighting style, able to delivering devastatingly powerful blows that knock opponents out, usually with just one punch.
- Knight in Sour Armor: In many of his heroic roles, especially when he plays cops, his characters will do what's right while complaining about needing to do so from beginning to end.
- Mighty Glacier: Reflecting his stature, his characters don't move much and use physical strength to dominate opponents while using their bulk to tank hits.
- Naturalized Name: In Western works, he is sometimes credited as Don Lee, after his real name Lee Dong-seok.
- Punched Across the Room: Whenever his characters start brawling, they start punching hard enough to send opponents flying.
- Stage Names: His real name is Lee Dong-seok.
- Stout Strength: His "dad bod" physique is heavier and bulkier than the conventional six pack look sported by many action heroes and it just makes him look more intimidating and sell just how strong he is.
