Hearts are breaking as Charles Mesure leaves the role of Jack Brennan on General Hospital. But never fear—Chris McKenna is the new face of the WSB Bureau Chief.
All Grown Up
Fans were shocked at Mesure’s decision to leave Port Charles. The announcement came with the statement that McKenna is taking over the role.
McKenna has appeared on soaps since 1990, when he played Joey Buchanan on One Life To Live until 1993. He resurfaced on The Young and the Restless as Mark Harding from 2014-15. He was just a teen on OLTL, where Frank Valentini was also Executive Producer. McKenna spoke to TV Line about reading for Valentini, “I’ve run into Frank over the years a couple of times, but he still thinks of me as 14 years old. So, I thought I was finally going to get in front of him and remind him that I’m an adult now [Laughs].”
Blast From The Past
Jack’s love interest on GH is Carly (Laura Wright), and things are just heating up for the new couple. Valentini asked McKenna to chemistry read with Laura. “I know Laura, but I hadn’t seen her in 30 years,” he began. “So I said, ‘Well, of course, I’ll be there.’ On Tuesday, I went in, and Laura saw me in the hallway and ran over. We hugged and said hello and we caught up really quick and she wished me luck. The last time I saw her, I think she was the pitcher and I was the catcher at a Make-A-Wish softball game in 1994. So, it was trippy.”
He went on to say, “As soon as I finished the read with Laura, which seemed to go pretty darn well, Frank said, ‘You were not this good when you were 12.’ And I said, ‘No s**t!’”
The role he was reading for was a mystery to McKenna. “They wrote a scene for the audition that was in the spirit of Brennan, but they didn’t use the name,” he explains. “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.”
The GH actress was helpful to the new Brennan. She sent him a message saying, “Listen, don’t be daunted by the amount of pages. I’ll work with you and Eden [McCoy, Josslyn Jacks] will work with you and we’ll read together and it’ll be great.”
New Beginnings
McKenna is excited about his new role. He told the outlet, “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.” He continued, “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.”
Fans are still reeling from Mesure’s exit, but McKenna will hopefully step into the role effortlessly and make it his own. How do you feel about the new Jack Brennan? Let us know in the comments.
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