Nip/Tuck Facts Only Hardcore Fans Of The Show Know

Ryan Murphy's career skyrocketed in the early 2000s with his second television show, "Nip/Tuck," which aired on FX from 2003 to 2010. Set in Miami and later Los Angeles, the series follows two plastic surgeons, Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), who run a well-established and successful business as partners. Their professional and personal relationship with each other, family, and colleagues, combined with a realistic (and often gory) depiction of cosmetic surgeries, is at the heart of the show.

Murphy's over-the-top and sensational portrayal of this glamorous yet shallow and morally corrupt world was a breath of fresh air for viewers at the time of its release as he explored multiple taboo themes and uncommon medical procedures in a stylish and appealing manner. It's safe to say that he created a series that was well ahead of its time when it came to cosmetic surgery, body image, and gender politics.

After its impressive debut season, the show took off and quickly became prestigious television with high ratings and numerous award nominations and wins (including the Golden Globe for best TV series in 2005). Throughout its run, "Nip/Tuck" featured dozens of legendary actors from Alec Baldwin to Bradley Cooper, and earned many accolades for its unique representation of the elite world of plastic surgeons. Here, we gather some intriguing curiosities and lesser-known trivia that might surprise even the biggest fans.

As a character, Dr. Theodora "Teddy" Rowe is introduced in Season 5 when Sean and Christian are looking to hire a new anaesthesiologist to replace Liz (Roma Maffia). In their first encounter, Teddy starts to flirt with Sean, and there's a palpable chemistry between the two which later blossoms into a relationship. However, by the end of the season, we learn that Teddy is actually a murderer (living a double life) who marries unsuspecting men and kills them for their money. That's exactly what she plans to do with Sean once she gains his trust through manipulation.

In Season 5, Teddy is played by American actress Katee Sackhoff. In Season 6, however, she's replaced by the Italian-born Rose McGowan. At first, this swap is a little confusing since McGowan portrays the character quite different from what we've seen before. Nevertheless, after a few episodes, she finds that villainous and dangerous personality that Sackhoff captured so flawlessly before.

The reason for this star exchange was simply a scheduling conflict. According to Entertainment Weekly, Sackhoff was offered the lead role in NBC's "Lost and Found," which would've interfered with her work schedule on "Nip/Tuck." She preferred to do the former, so she parted ways with the production, and her appearance on Murphy's show came to an end. Ironically, Teddy's character was written out early in the final season.

While we're on the subject of real-life parents, Joely Richardson had the opportunity to act alongside her actual mother and legendary actress, Dame Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Julia's mom, Dr. Erica Noughton, in "Nip/Tuck." Redgrave's character is a clinical psychologist with a Columbia University degree who often uses her intellect to lecture Julia and Sean on their parenting, marriage, and questionable life choices.

She often comes across as a cold-hearted, materialistic, and career-obsessed snob who belittles and judges people for making poor decisions. One of those people happens to be her daughter, who she criticizes for becoming a full-time parent instead of pursuing a career in medicine. Given the intensity of their on-screen chemistry, it's not that surprising that they're related in real life. That aspect definitely adds to the show's dynamics, especially when it comes to their complicated relationship — filled with drama, bickering, and loud fights — that they maintain throughout the six seasons.

Season 4 was the point when Ryan Murphy truly embraced the idea of featuring several guest stars and celebrities on the show who reached out to him hoping for a role. Although he initially resisted bringing on famous celebs (which he explained during the 2007 William S. Paley Television Festival panel), eventually, he reconsidered and agreed to write parts for specific guest stars who wanted to work with him. However, with Peter Dinklage's regular role as the nanny of Sean and Julia's son, that's not what happened. Murphy revealed during the panel that he met Dinklage on occasion and told him how much he liked his work and that he'd love to have him on the series. The actor was pleasantly surprised by the offer and decided to accept it.

However, Murphy didn't let just anyone on the show and had certain actors in mind who he always wanted to work with. Thus Season 4 became a sort of parade in terms of guest appearances. Besides Dinklage, Murphy cast performers like Larry Hagman, Sanaa Lathan, Alanis Morissette, Jacqueline Bisset, Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields, and many more. Most of these actors had recurring parts throughout the entirety of the season. But hands down, Dinklage's nuanced performance was among the most compelling ones.

Besides Christian, the other lead in the series was always meant to be portrayed by Dylan Walsh. During a panel at the William S. Paley Television Festival in 2007, Murphy said that the only person he was sure about casting was Walsh after he saw him in an HBO film. He also watched and loved him in Robert Benton's Oscar-nominated drama, "Nobody's Fool," acting alongside Paul Newman. While writing the pilot, he envisioned him as the perfect person to play Sean McNamara.

Funnily enough, after Murphy had finished writing the pilot and the day the show got green-lit, he bumped into the actor at a café and walked up to him, telling him, "You don't know me, but I wrote this pilot and you're going to be cast." Murphy said Walsh was "really incredibly rude" as he clearly didn't understand a word Murphy was saying and brushed him off quickly. Then the following day, Walsh actually learned that the man who bothered him was Murphy, who indeed wrote a pilot episode that was going to be made. Walsh apologized to the showrunner, and the rest is history.

Undoubtedly, "Nip/Tuck" was the first dramatized television series that depicted cosmetic surgery in a convincingly realistic way. The procedures were always painstakingly detailed — often disturbingly — and the psychology behind why people decided to have certain physical changes to their bodies was thought-provoking and insightful. So it doesn't come as a surprise that it shaped the views of the cast members on the subject.

In an interview at the Season 3 premiere, John Hensley said that the series drastically changed his opinion on plastic surgery. He claimed that it "softened" his perception as he previously had a very black-and-white view of cosmetic surgery before he started the series as Matt McNamara. He explained, "I couldn't quite understand why somebody would elect to make a dramatic change to their features. After working on the show, what you realize is that all of us have been guilty of looking for answers in the wrong places." He expressed that now he's got a better understanding of why someone would opt for drastic physical changes in order to attempt to make themselves feel better and happier.