Julian Dana William McMahon (27 July 1968 – 2 July 2025) was an Australian-American actor. He was the only son of William McMahon, a former Prime Minister of Australia. He was best known for his roles as Ben Lucini in Home and Away, Detective John Grant in Profiler, Cole Turner in Charmed, Dr. Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck, Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four duology, Jonah in Runaways and Jess LaCroix in FBI: Most Wanted. His other films include Premonition, Red, and The Surfer. For his performance in Nip/Tuck, McMahon was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series.
Julian McMahon | |
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 McMahon in 2011 | |
| Born | Julian Dana William McMahon 27 July 1968 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 2 July 2025 (aged 56) Clearwater, Florida, U.S. |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1989–2025 |
| Known for |
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| Spouses | Dannii Minogue (m. 1994; div. 1995)Brooke Burns (m. 1999; div. 2001)Kelly Paniagua (m. 2014) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | See McMahon family |
Early life and education
Julian Dana William McMahon was born in Sydney on 27 July 1968, the son of Sonia (née Hopkins), an heiress, socialite and fashion icon and William McMahon, a prominent Australian politician. His father was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives and a high-ranking minister in the 23-year Liberal Government for many years before Julian's birth; he became the 20th Prime Minister of Australia on 10 March 1971, when Julian was two years old. His mother left their three children in the care of a nanny to be with her husband in Canberra during his Prime Ministership. He had two sisters and was of Irish descent through his father.
In an interview with the Herald Sun in 2018, McMahon discussed his childhood: "My Dad... was born in 1908. That's a very different time to what it was when he was raising me. He must have gone through a strange misunderstanding of how you were parented in 1908 versus how you parent in 1972; it would have been so conflicting. Also how you be a husband in that period of time would have been different."
McMahon was educated at the private, boys-only, Sydney Grammar School, which his father had attended. As a child, he dreamed of being an army cadet and playing rugby. McMahon briefly studied law at the University of Sydney and economics at the University of Wollongong. McMahon started modeling at age 17 and travelled to fashion hubs including Los Angeles, New York, Milan, Rome, and Paris.
McMahon was working in Europe when his father died in 1988 and returned to Australia for the funeral. While home, he filmed some Levi's commercials which helped him land a role on the Australian soap opera Home and Away.
Career
McMahon made his television acting debut in the short-lived daytime soap opera The Power, The Passion, where he played Kane Edmonds. He joined the cast of Home and Away as soldier Benito "Ben" Lucini in late 1989, with his first episode airing in February 1990. McMahon chose not to renew his contract, which expired in December 1990 and he departed along with Sharyn Hodgson, who played his on-screen wife Carly Lucini.
In the early 1990s, McMahon struggled to obtain a work permit for the United States and as a result he missed out on a few roles. McMahon's big break Hollywood role was on the soap opera Another World when he was cast as Ian Rain in 1993. The first scene he shot in New York for the show had him emerge from a pool in a speedo at the Cory Mansion. He remembered the experience as "pretty magical".
McMahon won recognition for his portrayals in American television dramas, such as Detective John Grant in the crime drama Profiler (1996–2000), Cole Turner in the supernatural drama Charmed (2000–2003) and Dr. Christian Troy in the medical drama Nip/Tuck (2003–2010). He also appeared in films with leading and supporting roles, such as Chasing Sleep (2000) alongside Jeff Daniels,Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four duology (2005 and 2007),Premonition (2007) alongside Sandra Bullock,Red (2010) alongside Bruce Willis,Faces in the Crowd (2011) alongside Milla Jovovich, and Bait 3D (2012) alongside Sharni Vinson and Phoebe Tonkin.
According to McMahon, he was one of the actors in the running to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.Nip/Tuck garnered him a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series.
In 2018, McMahon returned to Australia to film Swinging Safari in Queensland, alongside Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Radha Mitchell, Asher Keddie and Jeremy Sims. The film is set in the 1970s and sees McMahon sport a handlebar moustache. McMahon and his former sister-in-law Kylie Minogue share an improvised kiss in a scene where couples partner swap. He stated that he had found it difficult speaking with an Australian accent in the film because the majority of his career he had adapted to performing with an American accent.
From 2020 to 2022, McMahon starred as Jess LaCroix in the CBS crime drama FBI: Most Wanted. He stated that when he received the script for the series from CBS, he had an "aha moment" and knew he had to play the character. He also made guest appearances in parent series FBI and in spin-off FBI: International. McMahon departed the series mid-way through the third season; his final episode, "Shattered", aired 8 March 2022.
Most of McMahon's roles were villains or damaged characters, roles to which he felt attracted.
McMahon's final acting role was in The Residence in 2025; the show was subsequently cancelled on the same day of his death.
Personal life and death
In 1994, McMahon married singer and actress Dannii Minogue after meeting on the set of Home and Away in 1991. The newlyweds spent a great deal of their marriage apart, due to McMahon pursuing his roles in the U.S. and Minogue following her music career in England. They divorced a year and a half later, with Minogue stating that her negative relationship with McMahon's mother, Sonia, had been an issue from the beginning.
In 1999, McMahon married Baywatch star Brooke Burns. The couple had one daughter together before divorcing in 2001. McMahon married for the third time in 2014 to Kelly Paniagua.
McMahon resided in the United States from the 1990s until his death, but said his soul was still Australian: "I feel like I'm Australian on the inside and American on the outside or something. I would never want to leave it behind either. I love Australians, Australianisms, I love my part of being Australian. I love where I grew up and how I grew up and, you know, I wouldn't change it for the world." He became a citizen of the United States via naturalisation, but retained Australian citizenship.
Death
McMahon died from lung metastasis caused by head and neck cancer, in Clearwater, Florida, on 2 July 2025. He was 56 years old. He had not disclosed his diagnosis publicly. His remains were quietly cremated.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Exchange Lifeguards | Mick | ||
| 1996 | Magenta | Michael Walsch | ||
| 1998 | In Quiet Night | Hayes | ||
| 2000 | Chasing Sleep | George Simian | ||
| 2004 | Meet Market | Hutch | ||
| 2005 | Fantastic Four | Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom | ||
| 2007 | Premonition | Jim Hanson | ||
| Prisoner | Derek Plato | |||
| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom | |||
| 2010 | Red | Robert Stanton | ||
| 2011 | Faces in the Crowd | Sam Kerrest | ||
| 2012 | Bait 3D | Doyle | ||
| Fire with Fire | Robert | Direct to video | ||
| 2013 | Paranoia | Miles Meechum | ||
| 2014 | You're Not You | Liam | ||
| 2018 | Swinging Safari | Rick Jones | ||
| Monster Party | Patrick Dawson | |||
| 2024 | The Surfer | Scally | ||
| The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat | Ray |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Rafferty's Rules | Police Witness | Episode: "That Old Black Magic" | |
| 1989 | The Power, The Passion | Kane Edmonds | Main role | |
| 1990–1991 | Home and Away | Ben Lucini | Main role (seasons 3–4) | |
| 1992 | G.P. | Const. Colin "Clutch" Carmody | Episode: "Beat It" | |
| 1993 | Another World | Ian Rain | Main role | |
| 1996–2000 | Profiler | Det. John Grant | Main role | |
| 1998 | Will & Grace | Guy | Episode: "Where There's a Will, There's No Way" | |
| 2000–2005 | Charmed | Cole Turner | Main role (seasons 3–5); guest (season 7) | |
| 2001 | Another Day | David | Television film | |
| 2003–2010 | Nip/Tuck | Dr. Christian Troy | Main role | |
| 2008 | Robot Chicken | Doctor Doom | Voice; episode: "Monstourage" | |
| 2012 | Rogue | Kevin Lear | Television film | |
| 2013 | Full Circle | Stanley | 3 episodes | |
| 2015 | Childhood's End | Rupert Boyce | Episode: "The Deceivers" | |
| 2016 | Hunters | McCarthy | 6 episodes | |
| Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency | Patrick Spring | 3 episodes | ||
| 2017–2018 | Runaways | Jonah / Magistrate | Recurring role (season 1); main role (season 2) | |
| 2019–2021 | FBI | FBI SSA Jess LaCroix | 3 episodes | |
| 2020–2022 | FBI: Most Wanted | Main role (seasons 1–3) | ||
| 2021 | FBI: International | 2 episodes | ||
| 2025 | The Residence | Stephen Roos | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Fantastic Four | Victor Von Doom / Dr Doom | Voice role |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nip/Tuck | Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Gold Derby Awards - Drama Lead Actor | |||
| Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama | ||||
| 2005 | Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television | |||
| 2006 | ||||
| 2007 | Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor | |||
| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain | |||
| Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble (with Chris Evans) | ||||
| 2026 | The Surfer | Australian Film Institute AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in Film | Won |