“With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,” McMahon’s wife, Kelly, shared in a statement to Deadline.
Julian McMahon, best known for his starring roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed, FBI: Most Wanted and the 2000s Fantastic Four films, passed away July 2. He was 56.
In a statement shared by McMahon’s wife, Kelly, Friday, it was revealed that the Australian actor had been battling cancer when he died peacefully surrounded by his family in Clearwater, Florida.
“With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,” Kelly said in a statement to Deadline. “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. We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories.”
McMahon, who was the son of Billy McMahon, Prime Minister of Australia from 1971–1972, began his career in modeling before transitioning to acting with a lead role in the 1989 Australian daytime soap The Power, the Passion, before moving on to the wider known Home and Away from 1990–1991.
McMahon’s foray into Hollywood really began in 1992, however, when he starred opposite Elliott Gould in the Australian-American film Wet and Wild Summer!. After moving stateside, McMahon worked on the soap Another World, before landing a primetime role as a series regular on Profiler for four seasons. He then went on to play Cole Turner, Alyssa Milano’s husband on Charmed, where he appeared for three seasons.
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His big break, however, came in 2003, with the role of Dr. Christian Troy, alongside Dylan Walsh, in Ryan Murphy’s Nip/Tuck, which aired on FX for six seasons and earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
McMahon went on to star in several other television shows, including CBS’ FBI: Most Wanted as well as Hulu’s Marvel’s Runaways, and most recently, Netflix’s The Residence, which saw him stepping into his father’s footsteps playing the Australian Prime Minister.
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On the big screen, McMahon is best remembered for portraying Dr. Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. His other notable film credits include Premonition, RED, Paranoia, You’re Not You, Swinging Safari and The Supremes at Earl’s All‑You‑Can‑Eat.
McMahon’s last public appearance came in March at the SXSW film and music festival [BELOW].
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The late actor was on-hand to for the premiere of his latest film, The Surfer, which debuted at the festival before its release in theaters on May 2. In the film, McMahon plays Scally, the leader of a surf cult that clashes with the protagonist, played by Nicholas Cage, when he returns to his childhood beach.
Tributes to McMahon began pouring in following the news, including from some of his former castmates, like Ioan Gruffudd, who starred alongside McMahon as Mr. Fantastic in the Tim Story-directed film.
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“This is terribly sad news about Julian. Even though we played each other’s nemeses, there was always so much lightness and laughter working together. Every encounter with him was a joy,” Gruffudd wrote on Instagram, alongside a series of photos of McMahon, as well as one of him and his former co-star on the red carpet.
He continued, “It was an honor to be Dr. Richards to his Dr. Doom. My heart goes out to his wife and family. God speed Julian.”
McMahon’s Nip/Tuck co-star and TV wife, Kelly Carlson, also paid tribute to McMahon, sharing a video on Instagram in which she gave her emotional reaction to the news.
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“You can hear my phone going off,” Carlson began, her voice cracking. “I just heard about the passing of Julian McMahon. And I’ve gotten a lot of really nice messages on Instagram, I just checked ’cause I was just told, and I was trying to verify it, right? ‘Cause I people can say stuff like that, but it looks like to be true.”
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“And oh my gosh, I’m completely shocked, and saddened by it,” she continued, captioning the post with several broken heart emojis. “I didn’t know he wasn’t well for a while, but I will say my heart goes out to Kelly, his wife, his daughter, his ex-wife, who they remain close friends and raised their daughter together, and he has a sister.”
Carlson added, “It’s tough to process, a little bit because he played my on-and-off husband for several years, was a good friend, and my acting partner. So anyways, Jules, thank you for a great, six, seven years on Nip/Tuck together, and we had so much fun. Everybody hd so much fun.”
After a message to the fans, Carlson ending her video by sharing her hopes in McMahon’s final moments, including that he had a peaceful journey and remarking on his “full” but short life.
McMahon’s Charmed co-star, Rose McGowan, also commented on his passing, taking to her Instagram Stories to share a fan photo of the late actor with the caption, “Oh Julian you force of brilliance, wild talent and humour.”
“For you, your family and loving fans all over the world, I pray comfort,” she added.
