Character Bios: Nip/Tuck

Cast: Dr. Christian Troy
Julian McMahon is Dr. Christian Troy, a charismatic, attractive, and unchaste surgeon/founding partner at McNamara/Troy, South Beach’s most successful plastic surgery practice. He started the practice with his best friend, Dr. Sean McNamara and the word is still out on whether going into business with his best friend was a good idea. Remarkably, their friendship was still strong even after it was revealed that Sean’s son, Matt, was actually Christian’s biological child – the result of a one night stand Christian had with Sean’s now wife, Julia, during their engagement. Their friendship did become strained, however, once it became known that Matt was involved romantically with a transsexual and after a psychiatrist suggested that Christian might in fact be in love with Sean. Of course, seeing as how the promiscuous Christian has slept with practically every gorgeous woman in Miami, one of them for certain would disagree with the suggestion that he might be gay. It is implied that Christian’s wanton sexual behavior might be the psychological ramifications of sexual abuse he endured as a child at the hands of his foster parents; or, possibly, because of his father who raped his mother resulting in Christian’s conception. Christian, however, falls for Kimber Henry and proposes to her, making it seem like he is ready to give up his Casanova ways. He was unfortunately proverbially “left at the altar” when she was kidnapped and attacked by “The Carver,” the serial rapist who tortures his victims via inhumane “plastic surgery” procedures. Christian still wanted to be with Kimber after the ordeal, but the feeling did not remain mutual. This season it seems Christian will be faced with a new slew of psychological challenges, go face to face with some new femmes fatales and one unexpected shower encounter with a hunky male.

Cast: Julia McNamara
Joely Richardson is Julia McNamara, Dr. Sean McNamara’s wife of 17 years. At the beginning of the series, Julia began to doubt her marriage and considers/attempts having several affairs, including one with Christian Troy. Julia has always see-sawed between her feelings for her husband and her feelings for Christian, with whom she had an affair while she was engaged to Sean. It was during her engagement that Julia found out she was pregnant, and although she assumed it was Sean’s biological child, she always wondered if it could be Christian’s. In season 2, Julia finally has a paternity test taken – unbeknownst to Sean or Christian – and it is revealed that Matt’s biological father is Christian, not Sean. This realization is the final blow to Julia’s and Sean’s tenuous marriage. Julia then tries to rebuild her life, spending more time with her children and opening a spa, De La Mer, with friend and former lover of Christian’s, Gina Russo. Meanwhile, she enters into a relationship with Quentin, another surgeon from McNamara/Troy, her ex-husband’s plastic surgery practice. The spa is a total success, but even with all her new professional accolades and now romantic relationship, Julia is still straining in her life and trying to cope with her horrible relationship with her mother, her children, Matt and Annie, and the realization that she is pregnant again with a third child that is initially assumed to be Quentins, but revealed that it is actually Sean’s – the result of a one night stand post divorce. Julia is about to undertake a whole new set of challenges though when the couple finds out that their infant, Conor, has a rare disease that causes the few fingers he has to be webbed.

Cast: Dr. Sean McNamara
Dylan Walsh is Dr. Sean McNamara, one of Miami’s top plastic surgeons and co-founder of McNamara/Troy, South Beach’s most popular plastic surgery practice that he started with his best friend, Dr. Christian Troy. When Sean started his career in plastic surgery, he envisioned helping the deformed but realizes he quickly was sidetracked by the dollar signs of vanity. Sean has been married to Julia for the past 17 years, and their marriage is anything but copasetic or faithful. Even though Sean has an affair at one point with one of his patients, Megan O’Hara, Julia’s realization of this affair isn’t the end of their marriage – the end comes when it is revealed that Matt, Julia and Sean’s son, is actually Christian’s biological son – the result of an affair Julia had with him while she was engaged to Sean. Things get even harder for Sean when Julia begins dating his nemesis and co-worker Quentin Costa, another surgeon that Christian hired to assist in fixing Sean’s face after he is attacked by “The Carver.” When Julia announces she is pregnant again, it’s quite a shock especially since Sean assumes it’s Quentin’s kid – until he confesses that he and Julia have not in fact consummated their relationship. Julia tells Sean it is in fact his child from when they spent one night together after their divorce, and tensions between the two run even higher once it becomes known that the infant has a rare disease.

Cast: Quentin Costa / “The Carver”
Bruno Campos is Dr. Quentin Costa, a bisexual plastic surgeon from Atlanta that joins the McNamara/Troy practice when Christian brings him in to assist in Sean’s surgery after he is attacked by “The Carver” – a serial rapist who was attacking and mutilating models in the South Beach area, until he broadened his victim base to Sean. Quentin ends up joining the McNamara/Troy practice in a limited partnership, only illuminating the already tense relationship he has with Sean. Once Quentin enters into a relationship with Julia, Sean’s ex-wife, their mutual hatred for one another comes to light. Quentin leaves McNamara/Troy to work at De La Mer, the spa founded by Julia and Gina Russo, one of Christian’s many ex-girlfriends. It turns out, Quentin Costa has been leading a double life – not only is he a respected plastic surgeon, but he is also… “The Carver.”

Cast: Michelle Landau
Sanaa Lathan is Michelle Landau, a businesswoman who enters the series in the beginning of season 4 as she offers to buy the McNamara/Troy practice from Sean and Christian. She is married to Burt Landau (played by Larry Hagman), a much older businessman who helps back the purchase financially. Even though there is a great age difference between the two, they are very happily married. Michelle comes into some drama of her own when an old “friend,” James, comes back to haunt her with a deep secret that Michelle doesn’t want anybody to know about involving her former career as an escort and her relationship with a woman named James who comes back to blackmail her once James finds out Michelle owns a plastic surgery practice.

Cast: Kimber Henry
Kelly Carlson is Kimber Henry, a former model/porn star/porn producer as well as the on-again off-again girlfriend of Dr. Christian Troy. She initially had no interest in Christian until he told her that he was a plastic surgeon, but eventually Kimber fell madly in love with him. Between the in’s and out’s of her relationship with Christian, Kimber developed a heavy cocaine addiction that eventually eroded her nasal septum. Eventually, after kicking her cocaine habit and ending her career in pornography, Kimber and Christian finally became engaged. Tragically, though, Kimber was abducted by “The Carver,” attacked, and mutilated. After she was recovered and Christian performed retaliatory plastic surgery, he wanted to follow through with their proposed wedding plans – Kimber didn’t. The attack profoundly affected Kimber leading her to find God and Scientology, and is currently involved in a relationship with Matt McNamara, Sean’s son and Christian’s biological son.

Cast: Matt McNamara
John Hensley plays Matt McNamara, the 19-year-old son of plastic surgeon Dr. Sean McNamara and his ex-wife, Julia McNamara. Matt’s world was turned upside down when his mother revealed that his biological father is not, in fact, Sean McNamara but Christian Troy, Sean’s best friend and partner at McNamara/Troy. Matt’s life has been in a downward spiral since the viewers were introduced to him in the first season – threesomes with girls from school, a hit and run, and a failed attempt to circumcise himself. Matt’s rebelliousness transpires into a romantic relationship with Ava, a transsexual going through sex reassignment surgery. Christian, Sean, and Julia find out Ava’s secret, and conspire to get her out of Matt’s life forever. Once Ava is gone and Matt becomes aware of Ava’s true nature, his fascination with transsexuals escalates to violence when he viciously beats a transsexual woman, Cherry Peck, who subsequently attacks Matt in revenge. After he is attacked, Matt continues to downward spiral – he completely changes his physical appearance and gets into a relationship with Ariel Alderman who is a deep-rooted racist. As season 3 ends, Matt hits rock bottom and returns home to Sean despite the problems the pair has had. Currently Matt is involved with Kimber Henry, the former model and porn star who was previously involved with Christian.

Cast: Dr. Liz Cruz
Roma Maffia is Dr. Liz Cruz, McNamara/Troy’s resident anesthesiologist and most oftentimes the voice of reason in the Miami plastic surgery practice and a proud lesbian. Liz has a love/hate relationship with Christian, and goes as far as to carry his child after being artificially inseminated but later terminated the pregnancy after learning the child would have severe birth defects. Liz leaves McNamara/Troy after the firm starts having financial difficulties, and moves to De La Mer, the spa founded by Julia McNamara and Gina Russo. Liz’s world becomes more complicated when she sees her partnership with these two women changing as Julia wants to focus more on her home life and Gina, who is HIV positive, becomes more and more self-destructive.