Julian McMahon, Australian Actor Known for ‘Nip/Tuck' and ‘Fantastic Four' Movies, Dies at 56

Yahoo

a day ago

Julian McMahon, the Australian actor known for his roles in Nip/Tuck and two Fantastic Four movies from 2005 and 2007, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 56.
McMahon died Wednesday in Clearwater, Florida, his rep David Schiff, founder of MGMT Entertainment, told The Hollywood Reporter.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Peter Sarsgaard Gets Political as Karlovy Vary Opens: "The Enemies Are the Forces That Divide Us"
Kenneth Colley, Admiral Piett in a Pair of 'Star Wars' Films, Dies at 87
How Jamaal Fields-Green Took Charge of the Tony-Favorite 'MJ the Musical' and Made It His Own
His wife, Kelly McMahon, also shared the following statement: 'With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer. Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories.'
McMahon, born in Sydney on July 27, 1968, was the son of former Australian prime minister William McMahon and Lady Sonia McMahon.
He began acting on Australian soaps The Power, the Passion as well as Home and Away and appeared on the U.S. soap Another World in 1993. He transitioned to primetime TV with a role on NBC's Profiler and spent three seasons on the WB's Charmed.
He memorably starred alongside Dylan Walsh in Ryan Murphy's FX plastic surgery drama, Nip/Tuck, which ran for six seasons and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Dr. Christian Troy.
On the film side, he played Dr. Doom in Tim Story's two Fantastic Four movies, 2025's Fantastic Four and 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer. His other film credits include roles in Premonition, Red, Paranoia and, last year, The Surfer and The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat.
His other TV credits include roles on FBI: Most Wanted, Runaways and the recently canceled murder mystery comedy The Residence.
Reflecting on being an Australian in Hollywood, McMahon told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2017, 'It's a funny town and there's a bit of a last man standing theory to it sometimes.' Early on, he recalled, often feeling 'like you're not cutting it, you're never going to and nothing is happening for you and you're just the wrong person and maybe you should go and do something else or go home to Australia, which a lot of people did.'
Of his role in FBI: Most Wanted, McMahon told Soap Opera Digest that the part was a 'really fascinating character.'
'I was thinking of going back to network television at the time, and I had read a lot of scripts and I was quite surprised, to be honest, that this is the one that stuck with me the most, but it was and here I am,' he said of joining the CBS series, which had a backdoor pilot in the first season of FBI.
Reflecting on his career with Soap Opera Digest, McMahon credited the 'commitment' he picked up from working on The Power, The Passion and Nip/Tuck.
'I've never lost my passion for what I do,' he said. 'And so I think that is something that I've carried throughout my whole career and I think it's been an important facet of what I consider being successful, that I've stayed committed to my craft and evolving that craft, and enjoying working in that space.'
Survivors include his third wife, Kelly, who he married in 2014, and his daughter, Madison, with his second wife, American game show host Brooke Burns. His first wife was Australian singer-actress Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie Minogue.
McMahon even had a funny moment with his ex-sister-in-law, filming a scene in which he and Kylie Minogue kiss, when he returned to Australia to make Swinging Safari in 2018.
'That was an impromptu moment,' McMahon told the Herald Sun. '[Director] Steph [Elliott] said 'Do what you want, Julian!' and I thought, 'Bugger it, I'll get up and snog my ex sister-in-law' … She had this great reaction, like she was being attacked by some kind of creature. It was very funny.'
Mike Barnes contributed to this report.
July 5, 9:44 a.m. This story has been updated with a statement from McMahon's wife, Kelly.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series
22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History
A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise