Wild At Heart
by Stephanie Sloane


Don't let his humble side fool you - ANOTHER WORLD's Julian McMahon is as wicked as they come His father, Sir William, was prime minister of Australia; his mother is addressed as "Lady McMahon." So how did this one-time law student wind up as an idealistic botanist on ANOTHER WORLD? "I was spotted at a luncheon and asked to model," he explains. "In my first week, I got an American Pepsi commercial. I got a lot of money and I met a lot of great women, and I thought `Wow, this is the life.'" Much to his parents' chagrin, McMahon dumped the books for life in the fast lane.

When he returned to Australia a year later, McMahon nabbed a role on the TV series, THE POWER AND THE PASSION, even though he had never had an acting lesson in his life. "I don't know how I got the job because my audition sucked so badly," he laughs. "I didn't even know what I was doing. I only knew that when I finished saying my line, someone else was going to talk. But the producer of the show said he thought I had great potential. I worked with some wonderful veteran actors who I learned so much from every day." The life of an international television star is a far cry from McMahon's sheltered upbringing as the prime minister's son, a lifestyle which he characterizes as very high-profile. "It was like being the president's son," he says. "Lots of suits and important people. We lived in the Parliament house and I was such a little brat. As a little kid, there was nothing more fun than jumping on a cardboard box and sliding down the hills, so I used to get the maids to slide down the hills with me in their maid outfits." The young troublemaker attended a strict private school, where he shaped up fast, and graduated in the top one percent of Australian students. "It was a very upper-class, crusty, English-style school, but I loved it," he shares. "I used to arrive at school in a big Rolls Royce limousine, but as soon as I was old enough, I wanted to catch the bus like everyone else." His initial bus trip proved near-traumatic for the lad. "I remember the first time I was on the bus I couldn't believe it," he laughs. "I was in tears! I didn't know what to do because there were all these strange people and this driver that I didn't know was driving the bus really fast. But I stayed with it - I was a very headstrong boy." That determined spirit helped McMahon stick with his decision to become an actor - even when his family wasn't completely behind the idea. "When I was in law school, [my parents] thought I was going to finish my degree," he explains. "But they sort of came around to the idea after I started getting so much work." Since his father's death seven years ago, McMahon has become a surrogate head of the household for older sister Melinda, 27, and younger sister Debbie, 21. "I feel like the oldest now," he says. "They always come to me with their problems. Because we're all so close in age and such great friends, any problem can be dealt with."

Though Australia is still his home, McMahon has developed an affinity for New York City. "I love New York," he enthuses. "Every time I wake up in the morning, I look outside my window and I just stand there for five to 10 minutes. It's incredible - stand on the balcony, freezing my butt off, watching the cars drive by. The first time I came here, I didn't like it at all - too many people. Where I'm from, it's such a different atmosphere. Now I even love the cold and I'm not a cold person."

Chilly weather wasn't the only thing that McMahon had to deal with - the newcomer was all too aware that AW fans didn't warm up to him immediately. "I used to pick up magazines and there were all these letters like, `Who does that Ian guy think he is?'" he remembers. "The main thing on a television series is to please your audience, and I came in under very difficult circumstances - I was breaking up one of daytime's favorite couples. I had a great time doing it, but now I have been really lucky that the audience has accepted me." While he enjoys working closely with Tom Eplin (Jake) and Judi Evans (Paulina), McMahon likes the chemistry between Ian and Marley (Jensen Buchanan). "I like to work with different people," he says. "In the end, Paulina belongs with Jake. I love working with Tom and I love working with Judi - for different reasons - but they work well together. Jensen is an incredible actress. A lot of people wouldn't give her credit for being a wonderful actress because she's so good at what she does. Jensen's incredibly talented and she brings such warmth to her characters [she also plays Vicky] in such a realistic way."

When he's not on the AW set, McMahon doesn't lack for company. He may claim to be an "absolutely boring guy," but in reality, McMahon loves being the life of the party. "I have a very large group of great friends," he explains. "That might sound [cocky], but I love going out with a lot of people. Everyone always asks, `When am I going to have dinner with just you?' because I always organize a dinner for 50." McMahon reserves his private time for his brand new wife, Dannii Minogue. The two met on the series HOME AND AWAY in Australia, and started dating soon after. Their union created quite a buzz for the local tabloids. "Dannielle is one of the most famous girls in Australia," he explains. "She was on one of Australia's biggest television series, where she would sing and dance when she was 7. She was well-known, and I was well-known for my family. It's very difficult when you get involved as to how public you take your relationship. We tried to keep it private at first." It was Minogue, in fact, who encouraged McMahon to try his luck in America. "Here I was leaving a country where people wanted me and people knew me and I had a certain income to go into a country where people don't [care]," he says. "She was a big influence in my decision to leave."

Humble at heart, McMahon is grateful for the opportunity to work. "I love acting," he says. "I was saying to Danielle, `I love this business. It's such a wonderful business to be in.' The odds were so against me ever working in this business that it's like a dream come true." According to McMahon, kismet contributed to his success. "I believe in fate," he says. "You can uproot your destiny and change its route to a certain extent and master it. In this business, people don't like to use the word `lucky,' but I think I'm lucky."

JUST THE FACTS: Birthday: July 27
Dubious Achievement: Starred in the most successful commercial to date in Australia (for Levi's jeans)
Hidden Talent: Doing accents. "They try to do my accent at work everyday. They're so bad, it's hysterical. They have this proud look on their faces and they say, `G'day mate,' and it's like, `Good try.'"
Dream Places To Live: "Australia, the coast of Italy, and there are parts of England that are beautiful."
Get Fit: "I do weights and run [on the treadmill] as often as I can."
PIANO MAN McMahon recently had the chance to meet one of his favorite actresses, Holly Hunter, at a screening for her critically acclaimed film, The Piano. "Holly is an incredible actress," the actor says. "I met her at the opening of The Piano and she was so lovely. I didn't know anything about the movie. I'm going to sound so ignorant because it was an Australian production directed by a New Zealand director [Jane Campion] who I know. I went to the opening and I was having some photographs taken with a couple of different people. Somebody yelled, `Over here, over here,' and someone else said, `Will you come and take a photo with this person? I walked over and said, `Hi, I'm Julian McMahon,' and she said `Hi, I'm Holly Hunter.' And I was like, `Oh my God, you're one of my favorite actresses in the world! What are you doing here?' And she's like, `I'm in the movie.' She must have thought I was a total idiot."