Macho Ma shows soft side in 'Bros'

Actor Ma Dong-seok, right, in "The Bros" / Courtesy of Mega Box Plus M

By Kim Jae-heun

It would be safe to say actor Ma Dong-seok has become the new screen king in the second half of this year.

His latest action film “Outlaws” has collected over 5 million moviegoers and become a top 6 R-rated box office hit in Korea.

In his upcoming comedy film “The Bros,” which hits local theaters on Nov. 11, Ma engages in a bromance with popular actor Lee Dong-hwi.

Lee Seok-bong, played by Ma, is a penniless history teacher, who spent all his money on purchasing expensive equipments excavating artifacts. He has no interest in his younger brother Lee Joo-bong’s life. Joo-bong, played by Lee, is an executive at an architectural firm, but he is also likely to get fired soon as he recently failed his project.

Seok-bong and Joo-bong attend an ancestral ceremony commemorating his father, the long-awaited family reunion taking place in their hometown Andong. One day while driving, the two brothers hit a mysterious woman named Aurora on the road. Aurora, played by Lee Ha-nui, suffers from memory loss after the accident, but all of sudden tells the brothers a secret of their family that has been untold.

“I don’t select films on their potential to become successful or decide to star in a soft one because I appeared in a strong action movie,” said Ma during the press conference for the film at Mega Box Dongdaemun in Jongno, Seoul, last week. “’Bros’ is a comedy story depicting a relationship between parents and children in a soft way. It’s not serious.”

On his success with recent film “The Outlaws,” Ma gave credit to the movie itself and the actor denied that he is enjoying his heyday.

Ma often plays a “strong-man” character due to his robust frame and arms the size of thighs, which he uses to add humor to a scene.

In “Bros,” Ma cannot lie down comfortably on his side because of his big arms and his head floats in the air. Ma said Lee discovered it while observing him and improvised the sequence on the spot.

“I didn’t know that my head would float when I lie on my side. Lee recognized it while watching my scenes and suggested putting that in the scene,” said Ma.

Having thick arms and a strong image was never a strength for Ma as an actor and he always heard this restricted the roles he could play as an actor.

“I knew I couldn’t play all the roles and I have my own character. I gave up on my appearance a long time ago too. I looked like me now when I was 20 years old,” added Ma.