On Friday, July 4, 2025, news broke out that Australian actor Julian McMahon had passed away after a private battle with cancer at only 56 years old. His wife, Kelly McMahon, revealed to the press that McMahon had died on July 2, and she asked for privacy during these difficult moments.
McMahon was born in Australia and, like many Aussie actors, started his career in the late 1980s in two soap operas: The Power, The Passion, as Kane Edmonds, and in the long-running hit Home and Away, as soldier Benito "Ben" Lucini. McMahon then moved to the United States to pursue more work opportunities and gain international recognition.
McMahon's first jobs in the American industry came as he starred in TV dramas such as Another World and Profiler during the nineties. However, the project that catapulted McMahon into stardom was the medical drama series Nip/Tuck, created by Ryan Murphy, in which he portrayed the infamous, charming, and womanizing Dr. Christian Troy. For six years and 100 episodes, McMahon demonstrated his abilities to lead a show, and his performance earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination in 2005.
Later, McMahon earned further notoriety and mainstream recognition when he began starring as the brooding anti-hero Cole Turner in the Charmed series alongside Alyssa Milano. McMahon's captivating portrayal of the demon assassin, as well as his chemistry with Milano, made the audience fall in love with the character and the actor himself.
McMahon's next big project came in 2005, where he portrayed the most notorious and iconic villains in superhero history, Victor Von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom, in the film Fantastic Four, as well as its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. While the films received mixed criticism from fans and critics alike for various reasons, many agreed that McMahon's portrayal of Doom was a definite highlight of both films.
McMahon was also part of several productions, including Red (2010), Faces in the Crowd (2011), Paranoia (2013), and Swinging Safari (2018), the latter in which McMahon shared screen time with his former sister-in-law, Kylie Minogue, as he had been previously married to Dannii Minogue. McMahon was also married to Brooke Burns, with whom he shared a daughter.
In 2018, McMahon once again became involved with the superhero genre, this time with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the Hulu series, Runaways, where he starred as Jonah for two seasons. He then played Supervisory Special Agent Jess LaCroix in FBI: Most Wanted.
McMahon's last film was The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, directed by Tina Mabry and released in 2024. His final TV role was as Prime Minister Stephen Roos in the mystery comedy drama television series, The Residence, released on Netflix in March 2025.
Throughout the majority of his career, McMahon portrayed villains, anti-heroes, flawed, and complex characters. In an interview with Greg D. Smith, McMahon said when asked why he preferred to play the villains rather than the heroes, "So, there's a quality to me that is attracted to that stuff... I just find it interesting, it just speaks to me in a way that I can see myself performing it. And having fun with the part."
No matter if he was the central star or part of the recurring cast, McMahon always left an impression with the audience, even after a while after last appearing on the screen. McMahon's charisma, gravitas, and ability to transform these characters from mere one-dimensional villains to full-fledged characters resonated with audiences and clamored for further appearances from him on their favorite shows. McMahon will truly be missed, as well as his iconic and wicked, layered, and prominent performances.
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