Julian McMahon, star of shark shocker Bait dies at 56

Julian McMahon as Doyle in shark movie ‘Bait’ 2012

To shark film fans Australian-born actor Julian McMahon, who has died after a private battle with cancer, is most recognisable for his role in sharks in a supermarket shocker, Bait (2012).

It's a confined thriller, and is the best sharks submerged in supermarket thriller you are ever going to see - they end up there because of a without warning tsunami that hits just as an armed robbery is underway, with McMahon as one of the ones staging the robbery.

He's not so bad as he is only doing the robbery to clear his brother's debt and redeems himself before the bone crunching has ended and the credits role.

This is one to check out - supermarket pun intended. It owes much to Deep Blue Sea, by way of The Mist. With some inventive scenes, it's far more fun than the Piranha remake, or Sharknado, as it takes itself seriously.

Three animatronic sharks were used for filming. Although director Kimble Rendall wanted to entirely avoid using computer-generated imagery, the budget necessitated its use in some scenes.

The effective film was executive produced and co-written by Russell Mulcahy, best known as the director of Highlander and kicked off his directorial career with ' Jaws in the outback' with giant pig horror Razorback.

To others Julian McMahon will be known for his roles as Dr. Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck and Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four films, passing away on July 2 2025 at the age of 56.

He was the only son of Sir William McMahon, Australia’s prime minister from 1971–72  and after a period of modelling he had a stint in Aussie soap Home and Away and moving across the pond to feature in Another World, before progressing to Profiler, Charmed and the role of Dr. Christian Trio in Nip/Tuck where he gained a Golden Globe nomination.