Julian McMahon has died. An Australian actor noted for his ability to project a particularly icy and callous (but undeniable) flavor of charm, McMahon broke into the American mainstream with starring roles on Charmed and then especially Nip/Tuck, before going on to play Doctor Doom in 20th Century Fox’s 2000s-era Fantastic Four films. Per Variety, McMahon died of cancer on Wednesday. He was 56.
McMahon was born in the 1960s, into the highest portions of the Australian upper crust: His father, Sir Billy McMahon, served as the country’s Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972, and his mother, Lady Sonia McMahon was a prominent (and infamously intimidating) socialite and philanthropist. Raised, in part, by nannies and in boarding schools, McMahon embarked early in his life on a career as a model, only returning to Australia for his father’s funeral in 1988—at which point, a Levi’s commercials he filmed while back in the country caught the attention of the producers of Australian soap operas The Power, The Passion and Home And Away, leading him to embark on a career as an actor. He made the jump to American soaps with a role on Another World in 1993, and from then onward was a regular fixture in American TV.
Early roles in Hollywood included a four-season stint on NBC’s Profiler, and a well-loved turn as literal ex-husband from hell Cole Turner on The WB’s Charmed. (Alyssa Milano, who played Cole’s wife/frequent adversary Phoebe Halliwell on the series, was one of many former co-stars to effuse in their remembrances of McMahon after news of his death became public, praising his “charisma” and “kindness” and writing that “He made me feel safe as an actor.”)
In 2003, McMahon secured the role that would help solidify his position in the television landscape of the 2000s: Professional plastic surgeon/lothario Christian Troy, on early Ryan Murphy success story Nip/Tuck. As Christian, McMahon was able to play to his strengths, delivering withering sarcasm and heartless behavior with a mixture of comedic timing and irresistible charm. McMahon spent six years on the series, making his way through an absolutely enormous number of sex scenes and surgical moments that often sought to out-do each other in their graphic nature, and sketching, in the aggregate, a portrait of a guy who was kind of, sort of trying to be a good person (when it didn’t get in the way of his numerous appetites). During this same period, McMahon was also cast as Victor Von Doom in the first really serious effort to bring Marvel’s “First Family” to the screen; the role, which he reprised for sequel Rise Of The Silver Surfer, was largely thankless, with McMahon forced to spout generic villain dialogue and spend much of his time with his face in a mask. But he did manage to capture Doom’s all-important arrogance, with a capacity to talk down to any and every scene partner that was drawn directly from his considerable skills as a performer.
After Nip/Tuck ended in 2010, McMahon continued to work steadily, if with slightly less ubiquity, for the rest of his life: In 2017, he returned to the Marvel brand with a regular role on Runaways, where he played one of the villainous parents of the titular super-team. In 2020, he became part of the Dick Wolf-Industrial Complex, starring in the first three seasons of spin-off series FBI: Most Wanted. He departed the franchise (and his role as team leader Jess LaCroix, a rare heroic turn for an actor who delighted in playing villains and cads) after its third season, leaving the series in 2022. His final role was in Netflix’s recent murder mystery The Residence, where he played a part surprisingly close to home, as a close associate of the show’s fictionalized version of the role his father once held: Australian Prime Minister.
