Chris McKenna: General Hospital alum Chris McKenna Speaks Out on Jack's Death and a Possible Resurrection

General Hospital character Jack Brennan has gone to that great soap opera in the sky, but his portrayer, Chris McKenna, is still connecting with his fans. The actor traveled to the East Coast for a pizza party with his supporters, put on by Coastal Entertainment, and he had a lot to say about his time in Port Charles.

Staying Tuned In

McKenna isn’t on GH anymore, but he’s either watching or following the show online. “Jack is more on the canvas and seems more central to the story than he ever was alive,” McKenna told Soap Hub.

The actor shared that fans are upset about his not being on the show anymore. He says that the outpouring of support and love from the fans has been overwhelming. McKenna said that he was filled with gratitude that fans still want to spend time with him, despite Brennan no longer being on the show.

McKenna said that the news of his character’s exit, as far as he could tell, had come as a shock to many at GH. In fact, a few days before Brennan’s death, a producer had been talking about plans for Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Jack. “Two days later, I was getting killed,” shrugged the actor.

What happened, exactly? “Those decisions are above my pay grade,” the actor muses.

McKenna did have a talk with Frank Valentini, GH’s executive producer. The duo’s working relationship goes back to One Life to Live in New York in the early 1990s, when McKenna played Joey Buchanan, and Valentini was on the show’s producing team.

“[Frank] expressed how this wasn’t fair,” McKenna said. “I did nothing wrong.”

While the veteran actor knows these business decisions are part of the game, he says that doesn’t make it any easier when they come around. “This was a blow,” he sighed.

The Drowning Pool

Brennan was found in the MetroCourt hotel pool, which meant the actor got to spend a few days swimming in the body of water that’s just deep enough to make it look real.

McKenna has had lots of ups and downs in his career, as many actors have experienced, and he expects that there will be plenty more in the future. While he wishes Jack hadn’t come to an end, he’s grateful for the experience.

The Lazarus Bit

Could Jack be resurrected down the line? After all, Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) could end up going to jail for at least manslaughter because their actions led to Brennan’s death. What better way to get the two fan favorites off the hook for murder than to bring back a third?

McKenna quipped that Ava and Drew buried a stunt double. The actor wasn’t there that day. “[So] I don’t know what’s going to come up from the ground,” the actor says.

McKenna said that he tried to bring humanity to Brennan. He’d never let people see his pain, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t full of agony. “That heartbreak wasn’t on the page,” he said. “I was supposed to come in there like a madman.”

From Genoa City to Port Charles

On Y&R, Kevin (Greg Rikaart) and Mark (Chris McKenna) bantered a great deal | Image: JPI

In 2014, McKenna played rogue lawman Det. Mark Harding on The Young and the Restless. Harding ended up being the killer in a murder mystery. He hadn’t been on soaps in a significant role since his time in Llanview. He soon became aware at how quickly soaps worked. And by the time he got to GH, he found that the pace from 2014 had quickened even more. “It’s a challenge,” he said. “But I love it.”

One reason McKenna wishes he could have stayed in Port Charles longer was to share more screen time with Jane Elliot (Tracy). “She called me ‘handsome’ in one scene,” McKenna recalls, “and that was all we ever said to each other.”

McKenna said that for a lot of his time on the show, Jack was off in his own world.

What's Next

Chris McKenna may be back on your screen soon | Image: ABC

There are four other soaps for McKenna to check out (five if you count a return to GH; on Y&R, he could always come back as another character), but he’s also available for stage, screen, and nighttime shows.

“I’d love to do a play again,” he says. “Regardless of what happens, I’m quite sure I’ll be working again soon, and you’ll find me on your screen soon.”