Fantastic Four, Nip/Tuck Star Julian McMahon Passes Away

Julian McMahon, the actor who played Dr. Doom in Fox’s Fantastic Four and starred in Nip/Tuck and more, has passed away. THR reports that McMahon passed Wednesday in Clearwater, Florida after a battle with cancer. He was 56.

McMahon was best known for his roles as Victor Von Doom in 2005’s Fantastic Four and its sequel, the aforementioned Nip/Tuck, and Charmed, where he played the demonic Cole Turner. Over his 36 year career, he worked regularly on TV and film, with screen credits up to this year’s mystery-comedy series The Residence on Netflix.

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1968, McMahon was the son of Sir William and Lady McMahon, his father being a prominent politician in Australia who would serve as Prime Minister a few years after the younger McMahon’s birth. He began his acting career in 1989 with roles on the Australian daytime soap operas The Power, The Passion and Home and Away. He continued to work regularly in TV when he came to the US, playing John Grant in the 1996 NBC crime drama Profiler for four seasons and booked roles in such films as Magenta, In Quiet Night, and Chasing Sleep.

Soon after Profiler, he signed on to play Cole in Charmed, a role that lasted for three seasons as he did an enemies-to-lovers arc with Alyssa Milano’s Phoebe. Nip/Tuck, in which he played an unscrupled plastic surgeon alongside co-lead Dylan Walsh, saw McMahon nominated for a Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Drama Series.

It was during McMahon’s run on Nip/Tuck that he was cast as Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four, a role he would reprise in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. They would prove to be his most high-profile film roles though he continued to work regularly on the big screen with supporting roles in 2010’s RED, 2013’s thriller Paranoia, and more. His last film roles were in the Nicolas Cage film The Surfer, which released in May, and 2025’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.

Among his later TV roles were Jonah, the villainous father of Karolina Dean in Marvel’s Runaways series, and Jess LaCroix in the FBI franchise. He played the latter role across three shows, with three episodes on the main FBI series, two on FBI: International and the lead role in FBI: Most Wanted.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Mr. McMahon. He will be missed.