Australian actor Julian McMahon, best known for playing the seductive surgeon Dr. Christian Troy on FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and the comic-book villain Dr. Doom in two Fox “Fantastic Four” films, died Wednesday, July 2, in Clearwater, Florida, after a private battle with cancer, his wife Kelly confirmed on Friday. He was 56.
Kelly McMahon’s statement, shared through Deadline and later reproduced by multiple outlets, said her husband “died peacefully … after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,” adding that he “loved life, his family, his friends, his work, and his fans” and hoped “to bring joy into as many lives as possible”.
Born in Sydney on July 27, 1968, McMahon modelled before joining the Australian soaps “The Power, The Passion” and “Home and Away,” then moved to the United States for NBC’s “Another World” and the NBC thriller “Profiler”. His rise accelerated with the supernatural drama “Charmed,” where he played half-demon Cole Turner, but it was Ryan Murphy’s glossy medical series “Nip/Tuck” (2003-10) that made him an international fixture and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
The big screen soon followed: McMahon portrayed Victor Von Doom in “Fantastic Four” (2005) and its 2007 sequel, appeared opposite Sandra Bullock in “Premonition,” and joined Jackie Chan in “Bleeding Steel”. On television he fronted the CBS procedural “FBI: Most Wanted” for three seasons and recurred in Hulu’s “Marvel’s Runaways”.
Recent work included playing an enigmatic surf-cult leader with Nicolas Cage in the Australian thriller “The Surfer” and portraying an Australian prime minister in the upcoming Netflix drama “The Residence,” roles critics saw as a late-career renaissance.
McMahon was the middle child of philanthropist Lady Sonia McMahon and Sir William “Billy” McMahon, who served as Australia’s prime minister from 1971 to 1972. He is survived by Kelly, their daughter Madison (from his earlier marriage to actor Brooke Burns), and two sisters. Fans, former co-stars, and industry figures flooded social media with tributes, praising his generosity on set and the quiet grace with which he handled his illness.