‘GH’ Chris McKenna Breaks Silence On Being New Jack Brennan

It’s recently been revealed that actor Chris McKenna will be joining the cast of General Hospital. McKenna, a soap opera vet himself, will take on the role of Jack Brennan, taking over for Charles Mesure. Recently, the actor himself has opened up about joining the soap.
Chris McKenna Has Been Working In Soaps Since He Was A Teenager
For many, McKenna became known to audiences through playing Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live in the early 1990s. The character would be played by a variety of actors, with McKenna notably being succeeded by Nathan Fillion. Following this, he would later have roles on The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Recently, it was announced that McKenna would be making his return to the soap opera world, taking on the role of Jack Brennan on General Hospital. He would take on the role from Charles Mesure, who is exiting the series.

In a conversation with TV Line, McKenna noted the hiring process was a speedy one. As he noted, “I got word late on a Sunday night that Frank Valentini wanted me to chemistry read with Laura Wright.”
McKenna noted he wasn’t sure who he was reading for when he arrived to do the reading. As he revealed, “They wrote a scene for the audition that was in the spirit of Brennan. But they didn’t use the name.”
“So, it was a unique scene just to get the feel of the character and to see how the chemistry was between Laura and me, and it was great. It was a lot of fun reading with her for the first time in forever.”
McKenna Was Surprised To Realize He Already Knew Some Of The Crewmembers
With his history in soap operas, McKenna ended up finding himself among familiar faces. He noted, “Some of the writers knew me from One Life to Live when I was a kid and said so. And I said, ‘Well, don’t think of me that way now. I was going through puberty on TV. It’s a whole other thing. I’m a cool spy now.’”
This included Frank Valentini, who was an executive producer on both One Life to Live as well as General Hospital. McKenna noted, “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.”
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“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, so I really felt comfortable right off the bat, and it felt a lot like coming home.”
McKenna’s last appearance on a soap was with The Bold and the Beautiful back in 2016. Noting this, he shared he was “excited” to make a comeback. He continued, “That’s how I grew up; it’s the first thing I did. The lines and the speed were always easy for me because that’s how I learned.”
McKenna also shared on what it was like for him to get into the role of Jack Brennan. He shared, “This is the type of character that I’ve been playing a lot the past decade, but a new version. I don’t usually play the guy in the suit.”
“I’m in a tank top in the jungle, that kind of a CIA agent. So, this is a fun little twist on it, the more Bond-ian guy, if you will.”
“It’s a lot of fun to be able to establish a new version of a character and have a new relationship with Laura and learn what’s in store. Every script is really exciting, so it’s fun.”
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