General Hospital’s Chris McKenna Talks Taking Over The Jack Brennan Role From Charles Mesure
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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.
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I for one am wishing you well.
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I feel sorry for him, because no matter how good he is, there are too many childish, judgy whiners among the viewers to even give him a chance. Most of them hated him BEFORE he even aired on the show! I liked Charles too. But he CHOSE to leave. It’s not like Chris came in and forced him out at gunpoint! People need to grow up and accept what IS, instead of bit ching about what used to be. Yeah, it’s different. Duh. It’s two different people, so of course it won’t be the same. But, “different” doesn’t always mean “bad”. Give him a couple of months to settle in. He has to get to know the character, and all his relationships, and learn how his costars work. I don’t know anyone who starts any new job and knows everything they need to know the first few days. No one walks in and has it all figured out that quick. It can take weeks, even months before they’re comfortable with their position, and before they start feeling like they belong there. Plus, most people aren’t doing it on national TV with a bunch of hateful, immature arm chair critics watching and expecting failure from day one! PLEASE just give it a rest! We all (or MOST of us) loved Charles and hate that he chose to go, and that things have to change. But, guess what? That’s called LIFE, and mature ADULTS understand that sometimes you have to put on your big boy/girl panties and accept that sh it happens and we can’t always get what we want. Do you all throw tantrums like this when things don’t go your way in you real lives?
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WOW!! I guess you personally know all of us FAN’S, every Fan has a right to voice what they are feeling!! When Mesure decided to up and leave GH without any warning, and I (we) as fans were shocked when the next episode showed McKenna !! We weren’t acting like children, the writers were to blame in not telling us Mesure had decided to leave G.H. !! Now back to the First Brennan, he was (is) quite the Actor his flirty eye’s, that impish smile, his accent had melted the Female Fan’s, maybe even male fan’s!! This is a Soap Opera not a court room, and this is how Soaps keep going because of the FAN’S, and the love they have with their Actors!!! So if you want to call us childish, judgy whiners so be it, but REMEMBER the FAN’S keep Soaps Running!! Yes, some of the comments were uncalled for, but the New Brennan won’t fill Charles Mesure shoes, and it’s a shame for McKenna trying to be Brennan which I again blame the writers!! One more thing these armchair critics are keeping GH going, which is on their last leg because of these horrible writers~~~I for one am not a child, I’m a 76yr. old retired Nurse who does have her Big Girl Panties on!! Blame these writer’s not the Fan’s for what happened to the “New” Brennan, they should have ended the character!! Sorry to say GH is going bye, bye and all the GREAT ACTORS will be out of a job because of these damn writers!! So sorry for repeating myself, but you could have said your peace without downgrading the Fan’s!!
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