MCMAHON
Julian

• 1. Career

Julian Dana William McMahon was an Australian–American actor. He was the only son of Sir 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. For his performance in Nip/Tuck, McMahon was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series.

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 have been villains or damaged characters, roles to which he felt attracted.