MAKE YOUR SHOT COUNT
As Korean star Don Lee hits Marvel hero stature, he finds calm by going back to where it started: the gym
The only thing that matters to Don Lee right now is the next punch. It’s a mid-autumn morning in the Yeoksam area of Seoul, and Lee is working out in the dimly lit Challenge Boxing Club, throwing punch after punch at a bright-red heavy bag.
Each punch hits with a thwack that reverberates through the room. And never mind the media blitz for Marvel’s Eternals – at this moment, he’s just focused on that thwack. ‘One of the reasons I work out is to try to clear my mind,’ he says in his native Korean. ‘I try to separate work from my workouts.’
That has never been more important than it is now, because after two decades toiling mostly in Korean cinema, Lee, 50, has seen his big-screen star rise. In the recently released Eternals, he plays his most prominent role yet, starring as the indestructible hero Gilgamesh. In the coming months, he’ll begin shooting The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, a South Korean action crime thriller that’s now getting the Hollywood-remake treatment from Sly Stallone’s Balboa Productions. And on this day, he’s just wrapped up filming Holy Night: Demon Hunters,a South Korean action horror project. He’s also writing, producing and starring in The Club, an action series from Gorilla 8 Productions, which he co-owns.
Each role involves a degree of combat, which befits an actor who came up in fitness and fighting, not flexing Hollywood muscle.
Long before Lee (whose given name is Ma Dong-seok) was bashing Marvel villains, he was chasing dreams of becoming a boxer. He remembers being 17 and moving from Seoul to Montana with his family. Inspired by Stallone’s Rocky films, he hoped to make it as a pro.
Instead, he found himself washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant and cleaning office buildings, which led to plenty of built-up frustration.
Fitness helped him manage that. Nearly every workday ended with Lee standing in front of a random office window and staring at his reflection while he shadow-boxed. ‘At times, I’d ask myself why our family was so poor,’ he says. ‘That is when my workouts helped me release my stress and anger. It was the only thing that I looked forward to and really enjoyed.’ He would go on to train MMA champion Mark Coleman. In his midthirties, Lee returned to Korea and began landing acting roles, partly because of his granite physique. ‘I never had any plans to go into acting,’ he says. ‘Then I started auditioning for parts and gradually getting opportunities.’
He fires another flurry at the bag, then heads over to meet his sparring partner, decked out in a padded bodysuit. Lee weight
‘Working out helped release my anger. It was the only thing I looked forward to’
trains as well, and although injuries (including a back fracture and shoulder damage that required two surgeries) have slowed him, his sessions still last almost two hours. Five years ago, he built his own gym at home. ‘On days that I can’t work out,’ he says, ‘it feels like I didn’t brush my teeth in the morning. It just doesn’t feel right all day.’
That’s why today, a rare off day in his loaded schedule, is so satisfying. The sparring leaves Lee fatigued, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He delivers a body blow to his partner. ‘I just feel really good after a workout,’ he says. ‘Yes, it’s hard at times, but it feels great.’