Australian actor Julian McMahon, best known for playing the famous Marvel supervillain Dr Doom in two "Fantastic Four" movies, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 56. McMahon's wife, Kelly McMahon, shared the news of his demise in a statement to American entertainment news outlet Deadline. He passed away on Wednesday 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 McMahon said.
"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." she added.
Born in Sydney, Australia, on July 27, 1968, McMahon was the son of Billy McMahon, who served as Australia's prime minister from 1971 to 1972.
McMahon began his career as a model before making his acting debut in the short-lived 1989 Australian daytime soap "The Power, the Passion".
He went on to star in another popular Aussie soap, "Home and Away", from 1990 to 1991.
In 1992, he made his feature film debut opposite Elliott Gould in the Australian-American comedy "Wet and Wild Summer!". After that, he moved to Hollywood, where he starred in a couple of daytime shows.
McMahon got his first lead role in a series with Ryan Murphy's hit drama "Nip/Tuck", which ran on FX for six seasons and earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
In 2005, he played the role of Victor Von Doom aka Dr Doom in "Fantastic Four", co-starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis. He reprised the role in the movie's 2007 sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer".
His other film credits include "Premonition", "RED", "Paranoia", "You're Not You" and "Swinging Safari". He was most recently seen in the Nicolas Cage-starrer "The Surfer".
McMahon was married three times, including to Australian singer Dannii Minogue, sister of pop star Kylie Minogue, in 1994 and to actor Brooke Burns, with whom he has a daughter, Madison McMohan.
