When the action movie The Roundup was first released in South Korea back in 2022, it marked the second movie in an Asian franchise, but also an explosion in popularity. The Roundup became the highest-performing South Korean movie since the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to hit 10 million admissions in Korea during the first month in movie theaters. In 2023, the third movie in the franchise, The Roundup: No Way Out, has been released globally. It, too, has been a success at the box office.

But if there’s one recognizable aspect of the entire franchise, it’s Don Lee’s performance as the protagonist Ma Seok-do. Lee, who also goes under the name Ma Dong-seok in South Korea, has been a formidable force in the Korean entertainment industry ever since he rose to prominence after appearing in the 2016 zombie movie Train to Busan. With a fourth The Roundup movie on the way in 2024, he seems unstoppable.
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MovieWeb chatted with Don Lee about The Roundup: No Way Out after its release in South Korea and the United States.

Evolving with Each Movie

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The Roundup: No Way Out sees Ma Seok-do in a new situation compared to previous movies. A police detective with a tendency to use his fists, Ma Seok-do has faced a wide variety of problems in the previous films, but in this one, he’s put to the test when the crime ring he’s after turns international. When asked about how the character has changed throughout the years, Lee mentioned how he tried to keep the appeal of Ma Seok-do consistent, but allowing the character the opportunity to “grow as a detective.”

In the first movie in the franchise, The Outlaws, Don Lee explained that Ma Seok-do approaches situations without a cool, level head. He describes this as “like a gangster,” and Ma doesn’t think before he resorts to violence. Lee added: “I think, in The Outlaws (범죄도시1), Ma Seok-do also showed the aspect like a gangster, not a detective.” But in the third movie, The Roundup: No Way Out, he believes that Ma Seok-do is capable of showing he is more like a detective and thinking his way through situations, using his fists whenever the situation calls for it instead of blindly moving forward.

Lee has been actively involved in this evolution of the character, and the more comic elements of the series. He explained,

“Usually, I’m interested in making people laugh. We’re not aiming to make a comedy film, but I think Ma Seok-do also has the characteristic to bring humor even into dangerous situations, like Bruce Willis from Die Hard. I actively participated in the script adaptation, engaging in countless meetings with directors and writers to build the character.”

He finished with this: “I usually come up with hilarious ideas a lot. I want to avoid forcing a smile and tried to make the line that this character would really say. In this franchise series, it’s significant not to be fake.” Lee has been involved with the production process increasingly throughout the franchise, especially with the newest film.

Related: 10 Ma Dong-seok Action Movies That Are a Genre in Itself

Mixing Action and Boxing with Acting

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Originally, Lee wanted to become a boxer but ultimately became an actor. However, this hasn’t stopped his past love for boxing and being in the moment action-wise from coming into his career. “I have been in the film industry for over 20 years. I dedicated my experience and know-how gained throughout the process of creating this fictional universe and characters in The Roundup series.” Lee then specified:

“This series is like an aggregate of my whole life. It took 20 years to create this character, Ma Seok-do, combining acting and boxing skills to which I’ve dedicated my whole life to. And under this process, I could learn how to build a fictional universe, communicate with staff, and create lots of characters. I’m still continuing to work hard to make the next project.”

As it turns out, he still practices with professional boxers to keep his skills sharp. “I always practice boxing and spar with professional boxers. Since applying boxing techniques to action films is not easy, I must constantly practice creating authentic and believable action scenes. Heo Myeong-haeng, our martial arts director, and the stunt team in this film have been working with me for 20 years,” said Lee.

The franchise was an opportunity to implement boxing even more, as the choices in what techniques to use were deliberate. Here’s what Lee had to say about it:

We’ve already used boxing to create action scenes in previous films as well, but in this series, we tried to evolve the performances so that it is more elaborate in technique and fun to watch. While we don’t actually hit a co-star’s face, there are shots where we need to hit each other’s bodies […] These are challenging types of action, but I did my best to make it look real and enjoyable for the audience. Related: The Roundup: No Way Out Review: Don Lee Fights Familiar Crime in Korea’s Streets

A Continued Success

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The Roundup franchise has become a massive hit in South Korea, which was unexpected considering how well the second movie did compared to the first one. Ma has been the heart of each of these movies and has become one of the few consistent characters appearing throughout them. Few Korean movies have been able to become franchises like this, especially on a global scale, making The Roundup a series to keep an eye on in the future.

When asked about the popularity of the series in recent years, Lee expressed humility. “I am grateful for the affection and support from such a big audience,” he said. “I couldn’t expect it at all and was so surprised at the box-office hit. [I] sincerely hope lots of audiences can relieve their stress with our film! I will do my best to make the audience feel lots of satisfaction and joy.”

This won’t be the end of The Roundup series, though, as Lee confirmed this with us:

“I’m preparing the following [movies in] The Roundup series, five and six. And I’m also currently working with some Hollywood directors and studios to create various films and TV series. I’m working on remaking my previous Korean film The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil in Hollywood. At the same time, I’m also waiting for the next project with Marvel Studios.”

The Roundup: No Way Out was released in theaters on June 2, 2023.