‘General Hospital’ Star Chris McKenna Speaks Out on Jack Brennan’s Shocking Exit.
Chris McKenna‘s run as General Hospital‘s Jack Brennan came to a shocking end on the September 1 episode, when the WSB chief was found dead, floating in the Metro Court pool.
McKenna, who replaced Charles Mesure in the role in February 2025, wrapped earlier in the summer, giving him some time to process his exit.
“This is the third soap that has either written me off or killed me off,” McKenna notes. “I did my last episode in June, so I’ve had a few months to adjust.”
It’s a bittersweet exit for McKenna, who started his daytime career on One Life to Live playing Joey Buchanan from 1990-1993, then appeared as Mark Harding on The Young and the Restless from 2014-2015. Still, he appreciates the opportunity to become part of the canvas.
Courtesy Chris McKenna
“I’m really grateful,” he says. “It’s disappointing how it’s ending right now, but this was a gift. Between my son being born and having this place to go to work for the past couple of years, this has been just a fantastic time, and it’s been so much fun.
I got to be introduced to an entire new legion of soap fans who weren’t familiar with me, got back into the daytime world and did some powerful work I’m really proud of, so it’s been a great experience. I have no complaints.”
McKenna had several storylines that took unexpected turns, but he looks back fondly on the many opportunities he was given along the way.
“I do think that Jack had an extremely unfortunate run of bad luck circumstances that influenced a lot of story since I took over,” he reflects. “When they put me on contract a year ago,
I was very much looking forward to the Jack and Anna [Devane, Finola Hughes] love story that they were very clearly going to do and the love triangle with Jack, Anna and Carly [Spencer, Laura Wright], but then we got Carly and Valentin [Cassadine, James Patrick Stuart] instead, and Jack got the short end of the straw there. But also, that story ended up giving Jack some of the best material I’ve ever been able to do on camera, so the work I’m most proud of came from that storyline.
And then I was very much looking forward to Jack coming out of his coma to save the day and kill [Ross] Cullum [Andrew Hawkes], but then John Oliver [Z] ended up becoming involved, and Jack gets sidelined during the big climax. Again, a decision I was very fond of. I loved John Oliver and I was really excited about that whole thing, but Jack wasn’t involved in the climax anymore.”
Courtesy Chris McKenna
One connection that McKenna was excited to see develop was Jack’s connection with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros). “I don’t want to put words in Cynthia’s mouth, but I think we both felt that we had a really special kind of crackling chemistry between us, and it was gonna be really fun, so, I will continue to operate under the belief that ‘Brennina’ is the greatest love story GH never told,” he quips.
“We didn’t get a chance to really explore that, but there were so many great moments in there, and there was so much great material that I was given, and I was given such a cool gray, complex character. I’m very fortunate that I got as much as I did.”
Jack’s final storyline gave McKenna a memorable way to bid farewell to the character. After being drugged by Ava Jerome (Maura West), Jack was found dead in the pool by Charlotte Cassadine (Bluesy Burke) and Danny Morgan (Asher Antonyzyn).
“I would have loved to have had a big, heroic martyrdom or a big grand speech,” he muses. “Unfortunately, I just played my dead body floating in a pool for two days.
I just tried to make it fun for everybody, and I splashed around in the pool and took pictures with Eden [McCoy, Josslyn Jacks] and the kids. It was bittersweet, but it was also kind of fun being in a suit in the pool.”
Courtesy Chris McKenna
His last day on set was an emotional one, complete with a fitting farewell from the cast and crew. “I had been floating around in the pool and having my body shuffled around for days, and everyone came out and applauded,” McKenna relays.
“Also, Frank [Valentini, executive producer] gave me a bottle of bourbon. He said, ‘I’d give you flowers, but I’m told you’d prefer bourbon,’ and he was right.
Also, Paige Herschell [Jacinda Bracken] and I both found out on the same day that we were being let go, so I wanted to make sure that she got her flowers literally and figuratively and everyone felt supported. I’ve been through this before, and it was new for some others.
I was sad to say goodbye to a lot of people, but it’s not also goodbye. I’m still friends with them all, and I live right near the studio, and we have fan events, and I’m working with them on some other projects already.”
McKenna’s exit prompted a touching response from one of his former One Life to Live costars, Erika Slezak (ex-Viki Buchanan), who played Ronnie Bard on GH last year. “Erika Slezak heard the news and immediately reached out to me,” McKenna reports. “She told me how good and strong and handsome I am, and she expressed her incredulity at the decision to let me go. But she’s my mom — what is she gonna say?!”
Courtesy of Chris McKenna/Instagram
Jack’s story may be over, but McKenna says he’ll always remember the way GH fans embraced him and the character. “Even when the rumor of my leaving the show broke, the response was absolutely overwhelming and humbling,” he says. “It ended up trending across the United States, 12th in the country, which is incredible for a soap character, and I’ve only been on for 18 months. So that was really amazing and meant so much to me. I couldn’t thank them enough.
I’m grateful for every moment and every one of them. I’ll always look back on this with pride and with joy. I’m going to mourn Jack with everybody else, and this may be the end for Brennan, but Chris is doing fine and you’ll see him very soon.”
The actor already has plenty to keep him busy now that his time in Port Charles has come to an end. “There are a few things in the works,” McKenna shares. “I still teach acting classes; I always have. And I did sell a script right before I got on GH, and now I get to go back to that project, which I’ve been really looking forward to doing for a long time. I have the rights to the Thomas Tessier canon. He’s an American horror author, and he’s passed away, and I have the rights to his work. I’m working to get more of his stuff on screen. I think it’s been criminally under-adapted, so we have some producers interested, and I’ve been taking meetings all week, including ones in Sweden, so that’s been taking up a lot of my time.”
And while McKenna is moving on, he’s still having a little fun imagining what could come next in Port Charles. “Though it’s not the end I woulda chosen for Jack, I hope this generates months of riveting television around ‘Who killed Brennan?’” he says. “And I hope that Willow [Tait, Katelyn MacMullen] killed him. It’s time she graduates to full-on murder.”
Frank Valentini tells TV Insider exclusively, “The cast, crew, and I loved working with Chris, and we wish him all the best.”
