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what happened to julian mcmahon

Julian McMahon, the Australian actor known for roles in Charmed , Nip/Tuck , Fantastic Four and FBI: Most Wanted , sadly passed away in early July 2025 at the age of 56 after a private battle with cancer.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

  • Julian McMahon died in July 2025, aged 56.
  • His wife, Kelly McMahon, shared that he had been fighting cancer privately and died peacefully after a “valiant effort” to overcome the disease.
  • A medical examiner later confirmed his official cause of death as lung metastasis due to head and neck cancer, with the manner of death ruled natural.
  • He had largely stepped back from the spotlight in the last few years, especially after leaving FBI: Most Wanted in 2022, but kept working on select projects.

Final Months and Last Public Appearance

  • His last major public appearance was at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in March 2025, promoting the film The Surfer with Nicolas Cage.
  • Reports and photos from that event describe him as noticeably thinner and frailer, though still smiling and engaging warmly with photographers and fans.
  • The Surfer went on to be released in May 2025 and has been noted as one of his final screen roles.
  • Another of his late-career projects was The Residence on Netflix, which was later canceled after one season.

Career Context: Why People Are Asking “What Happened?”

Many people started searching “what happened to Julian McMahon” for a few reasons:

  1. He quietly left FBI: Most Wanted in 2022
    • He announced his exit after three seasons, explaining he wanted to pursue other creative opportunities and new roles.
 * At the time, there was no public information connecting his departure to health problems, which led to fan speculation.
  1. He stayed relatively low‑profile afterward
    • He did select film work such as The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat and The Surfer , but avoided heavy publicity and red‑carpet circuits compared with his earlier Nip/Tuck /Charmed era.
  1. The announcement of his death felt sudden
    • Because his cancer battle had been kept private, news of his death at 56 came as a shock to fans who mainly knew him from long-running TV roles.

How Fans and Forums Reacted

Online forums and fan communities responded with a mix of shock and nostalgia:

  • Long‑time viewers of Home and Away remembered him from his early role as Ben Lucini and expressed sadness at losing someone they’d “grown up watching.”
  • Charmed and Fantastic Four fans shared tributes, clips, and personal memories, with many threads simply titled “RIP Julian McMahon.”
  • Common themes in posts:
    • How young 56 feels, especially for someone many still pictured as their “TV crush” or favorite villain.
* Appreciation for his charismatic presence and for characters like Cole Turner and Dr. Doom that defined a specific TV/film era.

“I loved him in Charmed. I was planning a rewatch soon but it'll be very sad viewing…”

Where His Story Leaves Off

  • Officially: Julian McMahon died of complications from metastatic cancer (lung metastasis following head and neck cancer), and his death was ruled natural.
  • Personally: His wife emphasized that he died peacefully and described his fight as courageous, underlining that much of his illness was intentionally kept private.
  • Professionally: His last chapter includes roles in The Surfer and The Residence , which now serve as a kind of final showcase of his work for fans discovering or revisiting his career.

TL;DR: Julian McMahon didn’t “disappear” so much as step back from full‑time spotlight work while continuing to act selectively, all while privately dealing with cancer, which ultimately led to his death in July 2025.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.