Julian McMahon, the charismatic Australian actor best known for his roles in Nip/Tuck and Charmed, has died at the age of 56. The actor passed away on Wednesday in Clearwater, Florida, following a battle with cancer, his wife confirmed.
“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,” his wife Kelly Paniagua said in a heartfelt statement shared with Deadline.
McMahon rose to fame in the late 1990s with his role as Cole Turner in the supernatural drama Charmed, but it was his portrayal of Dr. Christian Troy — a charming and morally conflicted plastic surgeon — in the hit FX series Nip/Tuck that catapulted him to international stardom. The series ran from 2003 to 2010 and earned McMahon a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
Dylan Walsh, his Nip/Tuck co-star, expressed his shock and sorrow at the news. “We rode this wave together and I loved him,” Walsh told Deadline. “Jules! I know you’d want me to say something to make you smile — all the inside jokes. All those years you had my back, and my god, we laughed. My heart is with you. Rest in peace.”
Beyond television, McMahon brought comic book villain Victor Von Doom to life in Fantastic Four (2005) and its 2007 sequel. He later joined the cast of FBI: Most Wanted, appearing in the series for three seasons. The show’s creator and executive producer Dick Wolf called his passing “shocking news.”
In a full-circle moment, McMahon — the son of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon — portrayed a fictional Australian prime minister in Netflix’s political drama The Residence, one of his final screen appearances.
Julian McMahon was married three times, including a high-profile marriage to singer and actress Dannii Minogue, sister of pop icon Kylie Minogue.
