Interview: Ma Dong-seok trades criminals for demons

Korean cinema has its own immovable object. Where Hollywood boasts Dwayne Johnson, South Korea counters with Ma Dong-seok — an actor whose boulder-like physique and jackhammer fists have become a bankable genre unto themselves.

In an industry struggling to reclaim prepandemic viewership, Ma's fist-first persona has demonstrated remarkable resilience. His "Roundup" franchise — where Ma's blunt-force detective pulverizes criminal enterprises — has accumulated over 40 million admissions, with three consecutive installments since 2022 each surpassing the coveted 10 million threshold.

"I've wanted to be a character actor like Jackie Chan since I was young," Ma says, his massive frame barely fitting the chair in a cafe in Seoul. "Just as his every film becomes a 'Jackie Chan movie,' regardless of the role, I've accepted my films will carry that same signature."

What casual viewers might not notice is that Ma, also known as Don Lee, isn't merely an action machine but a seasoned producer and creative force. Since co-developing 2017's "The Outlaws," which birthed the lucrative "The Roundup" franchise, Ma has constantly carved out his cinematic universe from behind the scenes.

His latest venture, "Holy Night: Demon Hunters," opening Wednesday, represents his most ambitious conceptual departure yet — pivoting from crime-busting to occult showdown.

"I've built an expansive fictional universe," Ma says. "I've mapped everything out with backstories and interconnections. What you see in the film is just a small part of it — the rest is being serialized in a prequel webtoon right now."

More surprising still, "Holy Night" relegates Ma's typically outsized presence to secondary status. The film's intense exorcism sequences center on Sharon, played by Seohyun, with Ma's Bau serving primarily as her enforcer. This intentional repositioning reveals the actor-producer's priorities.

"I designed this film around the confrontation between Sharon and Eun-seo (the demon-possessed girl played with unsettling zeal by Jung Ji-so)" Ma explains. "My character just handles the peripheral threats — I'm essentially a sidekick. People might think otherwise because my face is plastered all over the marketing, but I wanted those two to be the stars."

This approach requires a precarious balancing act: here, Ma must juggle between the multitutde of exorcism genre tropes and the prototype of his own screen persona — the unstoppable force whose fists solve all problems. When asked about the film's stylistic choices, Ma admits they initially attempted bold departures before retreating to familiar ground.

"We tried hard to avoid the familiar beats of exorcism films," he says. "But the more we veered away from those conventions, the stranger it became. So we had to circle back and maintain certain frameworks that audiences expect."

Further complicating the picture is the action component. Most audiences flock to theaters looking for Ma's demolition job, yet fresh contexts demand innovation. Ma shares with surprising conviction that keeping his trademark style was a conscious choice rather than a creative liability.

"There's going to be some deja vu, definitely," he admits. "When we were developing the script, I actually proposed playing a completely different character. But after discussions with everyone involved, we decided to keep the 'Ma Dong-seok character.' Since it's ultimately an action film with fantasy elements, we thought that's what people wanted."

This self-awareness, however, seems to only add further stress to a film already jam-packed with same-old elements — the predictable jumpscares, demonic possession complete with gibberish incantations and ritualistic interrogations, and the usual bone-crunching beatings — all flying by in dizzying speed.

The real issue is not so much the structure as the texture. In its attempt to deliver both ghostly thrills and Ma's trademark beatdowns in their full glory, the narrative contorts itself unnaturally and ends up leaving a fundamental disconnect between two worlds.

For one thing, Ma's character curiously avoids direct engagement with supernatural forces (that's almost entirely Sharon's jurisdiction) and instead focuses on pummeling Satanic cultists who exist solely as his human punching bags. As a result, the film's occut horror and brute force action play out as parallel sideshows competing for attention rather than blend organically.

Credit where due: "Holy Night" does reach out for some novel elements. The extensive use of security camera footage, which Ma describes as "a way to ground fantastic elements in reality," provides found-footage framing that occasionally transcends mere contrivance. The comedy, too, quite frequently sticks the landing. But as expected from Korean cinema's knockout specialist, the action itself remains the film's most reliable element.

And it is here where Ma's sincere craftsmanship really shines through.

"People may not notice, but I always analyze the physics of impact," he explains. "If I punch someone, how much should their head turn? Three-quarters, not all the way. How would the body realistically fall? Even with wire work for the fantasy elements, we carefully designed each impact for maximum catharsis."

Ma's professional plate appears perpetually overloaded. Beyond his continued "Roundup" commitments (he confirms filming for the fifth installment will begin next year), he's currently shooting "Pig Village," a Hollywood-targeting project he's producing alongside his future Marvel obligations. He also runs a boxing gym where he trains regularly.

Ma, however, is a person who thrives on restlessness. For him, each new project isn't a drain but a recharge that fuels his creative engine.

"Acting consumes a lot of energy. Some people recharge by resting, but I recharge through productive work. Creating something — writing, developing ideas — actually fills me back up."