In Another World
He's Frank, Brash And Arrogant. And as Louise Campbell discovers, Julian McMahon doesn't care WHO knows it.

Julian McMahon has a three day growth on his face and a five day growth on his chest. On a quick trip home from LA (where he's just landed the role in the prime time thriller Profiler) to visit his family, he arrives at the studio for our photo shoot and interview a mere half an hour later, wearing a pair of faded jeans, clean motorcycle boots and a green linen shirt, unbuttoned low enough to expose a generous crop of chest stubble.

He meets and greets the photographic team with the smooth enthusiasm of someone very used to being introduced to a lot of strangers. It's not until we sit down to chat that he removes his wraparound sunglasses to reveal piercing blue eye ( if slightly bloodshot) eyes. During the next hour, he fluctuates between distraction and animation, amusement and boredom. And he doesn't want to talk about Dannii. Does he really hate the interview process? "No, I just don't give a shit," he says, laughing. "I'm just really tired."

Does chest waxing hurt?
I never got it waxed, I clipped it. I was sitting on my balcony in New York and it was the middle of summer. I was sweating my arse off and it was like, "Bugger it". So I just got the clippers and went for it.

Does it itch when it grows back?
No it doesn't itch at all.

You were doing the daytime soap Another World at the time. Didn't you have an appearance clause in your contract that forbade you from doing stuff like that?
They wanted to ask me to get rid of the hair on my chest but they were too embarrassed. So they were thrilled about it. A lot of people do it in America.

So, it's the Hollywood male equivalent of a boob job?
No, it's like shaving your legs. It's only fucking hair.

Do many actors in LA have surgery?
I don't know..On their dicks they do.

OK, what about values? Are Americans as different to us as they sometimes appear?
Depends on what your morals are. If you consider it moral to get married and divorced five or six times, then cool.

What do they think of Australians?
They look at us as little people; people down there who every now and then bring out a decent product, and who kangaroos jumping all over the streets.

Daytime soaps are notorious for their dedicated fans. Do you have many?
Well, I've got my own fan club. I've had it for a while.

Do you feel sorry for people who are celebrity obsessed?
Why should I feel sorry for them? I'm glad I make them happy.

They're all women, right?
No way. There are a lot of men. I'm not talking gays. I mean there are a lot of gay guys too, but straight guys sure. Shit yeah. They stand outside the studio waiting for you to arrive.

Was it hard to leave all that adulation behind when you quit the show?
It's weird 'cause I had this fan club happening and I had this life where I'm flying around first class and going to all these appearances and everybody's going 'Wow', and then all of a sudden I'm walking into auditions with my tail between my legs going, "Pleas give me a job."

Did you always want to be famous?
I didn't grow up thinking, "Wouldn't that be unreal." I did modeling for a little while - just to make money 'cause I didn't want to carry on with the uni course I was doing - and then I just sort of fell into a TV series and it just rolled on from there. It's only been in the last year that I've known I really wanted to be an actor.

What was your high point last year?
The high point started once I got a new agent in LA. Once I started auditioning, I got a play, then I got a film, and I was asked to do a bunch of TV series...Just taking my career by the balls and getting stuck into it.

What about a low point?
Leaving New York. It's my favorite city. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

You're 28 now, but you were pretty young when your father was Prime Minister. What's it like being famous for you achievements rather than his?
It's even more fun than I thought it would be. I mean you can have some pretty wild times. And I'm not just talking about going out and partying. I'm talking about sticking your teeth into work and being really creative. The places you go, the people you meet, the things you see - it's pretty fucking wild. People don't see that shit. If you could, like, videotape everything I've seen in the last five or six years, it'd blow your mind.

What sacrifices have you had to make?
I can't take a piss in the street if I want to ( laughs).

Do the tabloids pick on you?
I wouldn't complain. The only thing that upsets me is any reference to my mother. I think it's unfair to drag her into it. It's my life. It's my shit. She's got her own stuff and I don't think they should drag her into mine.

You don't mind speculations about your life?
They can speculate their fucking tits off. I know how I am, what I do and who I'm with.

It's been said that you're gay: that your marriage to Dannii Minogue was a publicity stunt. Do you want to set the record straight?
No. The record has never been straight. I've had so many rumors about me since I can remember, it's just ridiculous.

But Julian, if you value your privacy so much, why on earth did you invite the media on your honeymoon? Cash or publicity?
That was a choice Danielle and I made and I was cool by it and so was she. I don't regret it at all.

So if you get married again, you'll sell the story for the second time?
Ummm...( long pause ) don't know.

Is being married a bad thing in Hollywood? Are you more marketable as a single spunk?
No, they don't give a shit. I mean most of the spunks are pretty taken. Even married - or definitely in some solid relationship; everybody from Brad Pitt to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Except Jack Nicholson. He's like the bad boy around town.

Are you happier when you're single or in a relationship?
Both.

You seem like a relationship kind of guy.
(laughs) Yeah, yeah...I think I am. I like time on my own and I like time with the person I love.

Do you fall in love easily?
(Long Pause) When it clicks. I certainly never just fall in love with anybody. Everybody I've ever fallen in love with, I still love. Very much. They all hold a special place in my heart.

No messy break-ups?
I've had some messy break ups, for sure.

But you've gone back to being friends?
Yeah. You have to ask them if they agree with that, but I talk to a lot of them and care about them. At any time, anybody I've loved can call me up and ask me for help or a shoulder to cry on...

Do actresses make good girlfriends?
(long pause) I think it's very difficult to maintain a relationship in this business if you're working your arse off for your career. It takes so much time, effort, emotion...everything. And if you're in a relationship with the two of you doing it, you're like two fucking meteors going at such a fast pace.

You're very close to your sisters. What have they taught you?
I grew up in a family of very strong women. And I think that's why I'm usually attracted to very strong women. Ballsy, intelligent, fashionable, beautiful people. My sisters taught me that we are a totally different ball game - women and men. We just don't run on the same track. You just have to accept that and love each other for it?

What still baffles you about us?
(laughs) I will never understand how women can always somehow rationalize a situation, even if they've done something wrong. They can drop a carton of eggs and you say, "You've dropped the carton of eggs," and they say, "No, I didn't", and somehow they manage to convince you that they didn't drop it, and I sit there going, "Yeah, you're right. It was my fault!"

Which actresses would you love to work with?
I'd like to work with Michelle Pfeiffer maybe. Oh - Holly Hunter - I love her. She's fucking cool. I met her at the opening of The Piano. I didn't even know she was in the movie. Somebody said, "Julian, come over and have a photograph," and I'm like, "Yeah, sure". And I walked over and there's this little girl and she said "Hi. I'm Holly Hunter." And I was like: "What? What the hell are you doing here?" and she's like, "I'm in the movie." And I'm like, "That's great". I didn't even know she had, like the lead role. I thought she might just have a part and she ends up winning an Oscar for the bloody thing. Wow! ----