General Hospital’s Chris McKenna Talks Taking Over The Jack Brennan Role From Charles Mesure

In a shocking casting move, General Hospital (GH) recently announced Charles Mesure’s exit from the soap, as Jack Brennan. The show also announced his replacement, soap vet, Chris McKenna, who will be stepping into the shoes of the WSB agent this week.

GH offered a statement to Soap Opera Digest (SOD), noting, “Charles Mesure opted to exit the role of Brennan. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. General Hospital looks forward to continuing Brennan’s exciting storyline with Chris McKenna in the role.”

McKenna is slated to debut on GH during the Tuesday, February 4 episode. He recently talked to TV Insider about his new gig in Port Charles, how he landed the role, and what fans can expect from Jack Brennan next.

General Hospital Spoilers’s – Chris McKenna’s History On Soaps

McKenna is no stranger to daytime drama screens, playing Joey Buchanan on One Life to Life (OLTL) from 1990 to 1993. He also played Detective Mark Harding on The Young and the Restless (Y&R) from 2014 to 2015, and had a quick stint on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2016.

As far as the GH hiring process, McKenna tells TV Insider that it happened rather quickly. He stated, “I got word late on a Sunday night that Frank Valentini [executive producer, who was also the EP at OLTL] wanted me to chemistry read with Laura Wright [Carly Spencer].”

McKenna went on to note, “I know Laura, but I hadn’t seen her in 30 years, so I said, ‘Well, of course, I’ll be there.’”

He went into the studio on a Tuesday, saw Wright, the two caught up, and the actress wished him good luck. After the two read, McKenna had a pretty good feeling about things when Valentini said to him, “You were not this good when you were 12.”

Fans may recall that the last time McKenna worked with the executive producer was on OLTL, and the actor entered that role at the young age of 12.

Still, McKenna tells TV Insider that he felt very like he was “home”, from the get-go as soon as he arrived on the GH set. He reveals that, “Some of the writers knew me from One Life to Live when I was a kid and said so.’”

He adds, “Having Frank on set again is great, and one of the cameramen, Bruce, was one of the cameramen on One Life to Live and my favorite guy. I had no idea he was going to be there, and it was so great to see him. One of the directors, Gary Tomlin, was there.”

GH Spoilers – Learning The Ins & Outs Of Jack Brennan

While it’s been a hot minute since he’s been on a soap, McKenna was looking forward to the fast-paced environment and learning lines upon lines; something that’s been engrained him since he entered soaps at such a young age.

Still, he also enjoyed getting to know the Jack Brennan character better, telling TV Insider, “I’m still learning who the guy is and figuring it out, but it is a lot of fun to get a chance to have a meaty character like this.”

Are you excited about Chris McKenna joining the soap? Share your thoughts below! Don’t forget to tune into GH on ABC daily to catch all the drama and check out CTS regularly for the best General Hospital news, spoilers, and updates.