Don Lee

Don Lee, also known by his Korean stage name Ma Dong-seok, is a South Korean and American actor and producer best known for physically imposing but often warmly comic action roles. He was born Lee Dong-seok in Seoul on March 1, 1971, later lived in the United States, and returned to South Korea as an adult before building a screen career. Public profiles commonly note his background in fitness and combat-sports training before acting; that physical presence became part of his screen identity, but his popularity has also rested on a persona that mixes blunt force, humor, loyalty, and tenderness.

Lee worked through supporting roles in Korean cinema before becoming internationally recognizable. Early visibility came through crime and thriller films such as The Unjust, Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time, and The Neighbor. These parts established him as a character actor who could bring weight and credibility to gangsters, police officers, tough neighbors, and working-class men. His breakthrough with a much wider audience came in Train to Busan, the 2016 zombie thriller in which his character Sang-hwa became one of the film's emotional anchors. The role introduced many global viewers to Lee's distinctive mix of bruising action and protective humanity.

After Train to Busan, Lee moved further into leading-man territory. In The Outlaws, he played detective Ma Seok-do, a hard-hitting police officer whose direct methods and deadpan humor helped launch what became the Roundup series. The sequel The Roundup became a major Korean box-office hit, and later entries continued to build the character into one of Korean popular cinema's most successful modern action franchises. Lee has also appeared in films including Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil, The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos, Ashfall, Start-Up, and Champion, the last of which connected his screen image with arm wrestling.