Julian has an interview in the November issue of "Ocean Drive Magazine." Squeee!

The Sensual Surgeon

Meet the shifty but sharp doctor on Nip/Tuck, the shockingly good black comedy set in a Miami plastic-surgery office.

By Jeanne Wolf, Ocean Drive Magazine

"He looks even handsomer in person!" screamed fans at this year's Emmys, who swooned over Julian McMahon in his midnight-blue Hugo Boss tux. I felt like a privileged insider when Nip/Tuck's hot Dr. Christian Troy stopped on his way past the flash bulbs on the red carpet to give me a kiss. Just days before he had turned heads when I met him for tea at the posh Peninsula Hotel -- and let the record show that this Aussie ordered coffee at tea time. Full disclosure also demands that I tell you Julian and I have a bit of a past: The man has cooked for me (I tell you, he can make a pan sizzle). He has also given me a personal tour of the gardens he tends himself around his hilltop home, and even introduced me to his two beloved dogs, Orso and Zach.

His breakthrough role as a vain and shifty plastic surgeon has heated up the buzz around Julian. He has made a splash before, as Detective John Grant on Profiler, and most recently caused a little sexy havoc with the three beauties on Charmed, but he really went after the role of the fascinatingly sleazy doctor with a way with the knife and a sharp eye for the ladies. FX has given a big push to Nip/Tuck, which goes beneath the skin in a Miami plastic-surgery office. Julian plays the dark and sensual partner of Dylan Walsh's married and more conflicted Dr. Sean McNamara. He expresses the shock that audiences feel about the daring Dr. Troy, who has females lying down to get pushed up in the right places and also lying down for a little passion as they succumb to his seductive charms, Nip/Tuck's explicit depictions of procedures, blood and all, and the show's steamy scenes have combined to give it buzzworthy ratings, an early pickup for a second season, and a prideful professional smile for Julian, cable's latest babe magnet.

But a three-year-old, his little girl Madison, has him rushing home after a tough day on the set. She is the daughter of Julian and Brooke Burns, who are now divorced but live close enough to share in Madison's care. Brooke's reality show, Dog Eat Dog, and her romance with Bruce Willis have made headlines. Julian acts like a good sport about it all, though it sure is easier to take when you're a hottie on a hit show.

What kind of acting challenge is it to play a plastic surgeon who spends a lot of time in the operating room?
When I was asked to do Nip/Tuck, I was like, Okay. I hate needles and doctors and can't stand the thought of an operation. But I had to get into it so I TiVoed all the medical shows I could and watched for hours. I became kind of numb to the process of surgery. Then I went and saw a couple of actual plastic surgeries that were really explicit and quite disgusting. I never learned anything that would enable me to do it for real.

But the operations we see do look so real that I admit I really can't watch.
It's all done with prosthetics. But you do have a scalpel and slice the prosthetic skin. Underneath it they put all of the fake veins and flesh, which is usually chicken or beef. So it does look realistic, not to mention being all gooey and messy. When the camera stops rolling I'm always like, Oh, god, aggh. I'd be the worst surgeon on the planet because I just can't stand all this blood everywhere.

If I fell and gashed my forehead open now what would you do?
I'd call a doctor. I'd get somebody to help us out here. I wouldn't touch a thing, trust me. In fact, I'd probably leave. Sorry, I couldn't stand the sight of that.

Why do some viewers seem to be fascinated with the surgery, or at least not so grossed out that they switch channels?
I feel like people are really into the story lines and the characters in Nip/Tuck, so they don't want to switch off during an operation when things get gory.

What's your feeling about people wanting to change how they look?
Everybody always asks, "What do you think about plastic surgery?" I've always been adamant that, if somebody is getting up every day and looking in the mirror and thinking badly of themselves, if a small surgical adjustment in whatever way is going to help to help that, why not? If the possibilities, and availability are there and you can do it without hurting yourself, why wouldn't you?

And what about people who don't want to change?
I love people who are happy with themselves. My father had these huge ears and he was a very small man, but he was fine with it. It didn't matter to him. I just love that concept because it's all about belief in yourself. To me, it displays such strength, and I really admire it.

Well, to be fair, you're the kind of handsome guy who certainly wouldn't be considering a nip and tuck. Your good looks must be a real asset.
I don't look at myself like that. But I do understand what you're saying about the concept of being blessed with good looks. It's like you have an extra ticket. But the other side is that people get envious. They don't think you're intelligent. They don't think don't think that you can go to Harvard. They're like, "Screw you. You walk right in here looking great with your blue eyes." And other people just think you're going to be a snobby prick. I can't tell you how many women I meet who are kind of like, "I'm sure he's just an asshole, he's just full of himself." The way that we look comes with so much baggage. It can be advantageous or detrimental, depending on how you use it. There are pros and cons.

Enough about plastic surgery. Dr. Troy seems to spend almost as much time bedding his patients as operating on them. Your co-star Valerie Cruz said you helped her get over her first big sex scene with you.
That was the funniest day because that was the revolving door of sex scenes for me. We filmed seven or eight that day and Valerie was just one of them.

Was it good for you?
It wasn't as good for me as you'd think it could be. We were literally just changing bedclothes and then the next actress would come in and we'd do whatever we had to. The funny thing was, between me and the director, we had to come up with different ways to have sex so it kind of looked like where the character was at that point in time. I mean, there's a difference between the missionary position and doggy style.

How do you feel about a patient who wants to get passionate with her plastic surgeon?
Everybody's choices are up to them. If a woman wants to get her ears pinned back and then have sex with the doctor who did the surgery, that has nothing to do with me, really. It might be different with my daughter.

You don't let your daughter, Madison, watch Nip/Tuck.
Of course I do. She loves it. She wants to be a plastic surgeon. No, I show her little snippets. She's so hysterical. the other night I had this scene where Dylan and I were in the wash-up room and I was just being silly. And she turns to me and goes, "Look, Dad, there's your boyfriend." That's a great way to look at it.

So, Mr. Daddy, what do you watch that little girls love?
I've probably watched Lady and the tramp no less than 60 times. And the funny thing is she'll run off to play and I'm the one who ends up watching it. I had three of my buddies over the other day and we were sitting and watching The Little Mermaid. It wasn't until a half an hour of her not even being in the room that I was asking, "Where's the kid?!" My friends were just sitting there glued to the TV, while Madison was in the other room playing.

You and your ex-wife Brooke Burns share custody of your daughter, don't you?
We do. We just go day by day, basically. Whoever has the most amount of work will not have the child that day or night. It basically stems from the fact that we want our daughter to spend as much time with each parent as she can. And so we just do everything accordingly, I mean, if she's busy one weekend, I'll take the kid. I 'm busy one weekend, she'll take her.

Divorce with a young child can often be a mess. Did you really think it would be that peaceful and easy?
I believed it could be. I didn't know that it would be. But if it comes down to trying to give your child the best life you possibly can, then it kind of comes easy. It's not about arguing and fighting and trying to manipulate each other anymore. It's just about trying to make sure that our little girl grows up with everything we can offer her.

Your walk down the aisle and your breakup came pretty close to each other. Did that take a lot out of you emotionally?
It was really hard. Marriage and divorce are two such extremities to go through within the space of two years. It took a lot out of me. I'm thankful for it now because I have such a great relationship and I'm so close to my kid. And if I was to do it over again, I would probably do the same thing. But it was difficult.

Now Brooke is dating Bruce Willis. Is that hard to take?
Not really. I thought it was going to be one of those big woohaa things, you know, but it's just your life. I really don't know what to say about it.

So would you get married again?
I've never said no to anything. But, you know, after two marriages I fell like I lost a battle but am winning the war in some kind of strange way, because my daughter and this journey have made me who I am. And I'm really kind of proud of that. I wouldn't change it. Marriage is a weird thing to me. I'm always a little iffy about the whole subject. I don't get it, to be honest. Getting married doesn't say to me that you love somebody more or want to spend more time with them or anything like that. I've also grown up very much a rebellious, anti-control freak. I've been combative my whole life. An it's hard for me to settle for a little certificate.

Since Nip/Tuck is set in Miami, you've obviously had a chance to spend some time there. What grabs you about the city?
Miami is one of those places where I get off the plane and feel the tropical air and everthing all of a sudden feels kind of sexy. Then when you get to South Beach you just get stuck on the life there. I like everything about it. There are such great restaurants and bars. And I love that fact that it's open all night. When we went down there Dylan and I sat at this restaurant for hours and hours and hours and just people watched. Literally the two of us just sat there and were like, "Whoa, look what's passing by." It's like a parade. One night we to a club and it was so fantastic. I just stood there with my drink going, "Mmmm..." There's definitely an eclectic kind of group there, I don't club in L.A. at all. But if you go to Miami, you have to. It's one of those things where you have to go with it, right?


And from the interview with Valerie Cruz (Grace):

But a lot more nipping and tucking is going on in the show. You also get some hot love scenes with Julian McMahon.
That was the biggest giggle, doing the love scenes. I had never done love scenes on camera before. That was another moment when I was like, Oh, my God.

Did Julian give you any advice?
Julian was really great, surprisingly enough. But of course, he gets a lot of practice on the show. Before our first love scene he had already made out with two other chicks. I was the third one on the list. He just told me to really have fun and not think about it too much. It wasn't even so much the advice; it's that everyone has to be deflowered for the first time. So he was very gentle. There's one love scene where he has me against the wall. It was hysterical because in one take my hand went up his nose. It's very funny because it's really not that sexy at all while you're doing it, but it ends up looking sexy.

And the pictures, which will be cross-posted to julian_daily: