After a stint on NBC’s Another World in 1993, McMahon transitioned to primetime as a series regular on the network’s crime drama Profiler for its four-season run. He went on to join the WB’s popular supernatural drama Charmed for a three-season starring turn as the demonic Cole Turner.
“Julian McMahon was magic. That smile. That laugh. That talent. That presence,” McMahon’s Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano, who played his wife Phoebe, wrote on IG. “Julian was more than my TV husband. He was a dear friend. Losing him feels unreal. Too soon. Too unfair. Rest, my friend. I’ll carry your laugh with me. Forever Cole. Forever Julian.”
Next up, McMahon landed his first series lead when he and Dylan Walsh headlined Ryan Murphy’s hit plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck, which ran on FX for six seasons and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for playing the handsome, charming (and promiscuous) Dr. Christian Troy.
“I’m stunned,” Walsh told Deadline. “We rode this wave together and I loved him. My heart goes out to Kelly and Maddy. 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.”
Nip/Tuck established McMahon as a TV leading man, with his status reaffirmed when he was tapped as the star of CBS’ FBI: Most Wanted. He played team leader Jess LaCroix from the FBI’s Most Wanted Unit for three seasons before his surprise March 2022 exit.
“What shocking news,” FBI franchise boss Dick Wolf said in a statement to Deadline. “All of us at Wolf Entertainment are deeply saddened by Julian’s passing and our condolences go out to his entire family.”
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McMahon’s TV resume also includes a series regular stint on Hulu’s Marvel’s Runaways. In features, he is best known for his starring role as Dr. Doom in Tim Story’s two Fantastic Four movies, the 2005 Fantastic Four and the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. McMahon’s film credits also include Premonition, RED, Paranoia, You’re Not You, Swinging Safari, and most recently, the 2024 The Surfer with Nicolas Cage, which premiered in the Midnight Screenings section at the Cannes Film Festival, and The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.
“Such deeply saddening news. I spent six weeks working with Julian, and he was the most talented of actors,” Cage told Deadline. “Our scenes together on The Surfer were amongst my favorites I have ever participated in, and Julian is one of my favorite people. He was a kind and intelligent man. My love to his family.”
McMahon’s final role was on Netflix’s murder mystery series The Residence. In a full-circle moment, McMahon tapped into his roots for the part, playing the Australian Prime Minister.
