And Just Like That, General Hospital's Brennan Is No Longer Australian! — Why the Role Was Recast
General Hospital viewers on Tuesday afternoon said g'day to a brand-new Jack Brennan, although the veteran WBS spook no longer sounds like the Aussie he is.
That's because the ABC sudser recast Brennan with One Life to Live alum Chris McKenna, in the wake of Charles Mesure's exit from the role.
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Mesure is a British-born Australian, so he and his voice brought an undeniable international flair to the character — very in keeping with the likes of fellow World Security Bureau spies Robert Scorpio (Australian), Anna Devane (British) and the late Sean Donely (Irish-American) — whereas McKenna was born in Queens, N.Y.
No bit of on-air dialogue in Tuesday's episode attempted to account for Brennan's suddenly non-Aussie voice, though such a stark switcheroo is nothing new to daytime soap recasts. Characters get taller, shorter, younger, older, stop being Asian…. We've seen it all before.
Plus, longtime GH fans are well aware what can happen when an Australian accent is foisted upon an actor, which was the case when John J. York made his 'splashy' February 1991 debut as Robert's brother, Mac. York, bless him, did his best to sound Australian, even getting help from TV brother Tristan Rogers. Mac even opened a restaurant called The Outback! But over time, York and Mac, with the producers' blessing, slipped into a decidedly non-Aussie voice.
Let's revisit Mac's arrival in Port Charles (via the harbor, specifically), then continue our assessment of the Brennan recast:
With this week's recast of Brennan comes another question, shared by a Marie Jo on X among others: Are we are to now buy thus guy as a WSB peer of Anna's when McKenna is the nearly same age as GH vet Kimberly McCullough, who played Anna and Robert's daughter Robin?! (Mesure at least had an extra decade or so on McKenna.)
As first reported by the Soap Opera Digest website and then confirmed by ABC, 'Charles Mesure opted to exit the role of Brennan,' which he originated back in December 2023. 'We wish him all the best in his future endeavors,' said the soap rep.
Mesure's final appearance as Brennan aired Jan. 30.
McKenna started out his acting career as one of OLTL's many, many Joey Buchanans. His TV credits also include The CW's 90210, NBC's one-and-done State of Affairs, CBS' The Young and the Restless (as Detective Mark Harding), Major Crimes and Good Trouble (playing Marc Rothman).
His most recent primetime gig was a February 2024 episode of NCIS.
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