Joely Richardson’s Touching Tribute to Julian McMahon. He Was ‘Hysterically Funny’

On their hit show, “Nip/Tuck,” Julian McMahon’s character, Christian Troy, and Joely Richardson’s Julia McNamara had a complicated relationship. Friends since college, she is married to Christian’s best friend, Sean (played by Dylan Walsh). Julia has lingering feelings for Christian due to a one-night stand they had years ago, which resurfaced intermittently during the show’s six seasons.

In real life, the relationship between McMahon and Richardson couldn’t have been more different. On July 5, she posted a lengthy and emotional Instagram post sharing bittersweet and heartfelt memories of the co-star she adored.

Joely Richardson Called McMahon ‘Hugely Charismatic”

“Woke up to the shocking news of Julian McMahon’s passing at 56,” she began her post. “I can’t believe it. We worked together for many years, covering every possible storyline and then some. Julian could be hysterically funny, was hugely charismatic ( drama swirled in his wake), and most of the female population fell for him as ‘Christian Troy.’”

“Our love triangle with my TV husband Dylan Walsh ( together you were giggly schoolmates),” she continued. “This has taken me back, and ABACK.” “The Gentlemen” star also posted a collage of different magazine covers and spreads featuring her, Walsh, and McMahon together.

In a stream of consciousness, Richardson recounts memory after memory: their first script reading together, Julian suggesting meditation to calm their nerves, improvising through their Emmys presentation, and “Nip/Tuck” winning the Golden Globe for Best Series. The wistfulness and pain she feels are evident in her writing.

“I remember the episode when we all had to age up with prosthetics- how we laughed then, and how it’s making me cry today,” she wrote.

She finished her tribute with a message to his family: “My enormous condolences to your family and children. You lived a large life my friend, Bravo.”

Joely Richardson Watches “Nip/Tuck’s” Pilot Episode Days After McMahon’s Passing

On July 7, Richardson watched the very first episode of “Nip/Tuck” and recorded it in an Instagram video.

“We shot a scene of older Julia ( me) watching a video of us in college at the start of our adult lives,” she wrote. As she watches the scene, she remarks on his lines as Christian before commenting on McMahon himself.

“He just seemed bigger and stronger than the rest of us- he ‘entered’ a room,” she reminisced. “So, to love. To work. To living. To friendship. To stories- all of ours.”