General Hospital star Chris McKenna reflects on Brennan’s evolution from hardened spy to Carly’s protector

In a recent interview with Soap Opera Digest on March 18, 2025, the General Hospital actor Chris McKenna reflected on his character as Jack Brennan. Chris remarked on Brennan's evolution from being a hardened spy to becoming Carly's protector.

"Brennan is hurt, Brennan’s scarred — but also, because of his training, because of his past, he knows how to harden himself," he said.

He added:

"This guy’s had to torture people for information and kill people who are begging for their lives, and when his heart’s broken, he knows how to put on the armor and to keep soldiering on, as painful as it is."

Chris McKenna joined General Hospital as Jack Brenan, the WSB chief, in February 2025, replacing Charles Mesure. In a recent storyline, Carly briefly ended things with Jack but reconnected with him after being hospitalized.

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Chris McKenna talks about his character in General Hospital

In the recent episode, fans saw Brennan seeking revenge on Valentin Cassadine, as he was the reason behind Carly's hospitalization. As fans of the General Hospital know Jack is a tough guy, who knows how to harden himself. However, in the recent turn of events he is beginning to develop feelings and let down his armor for Carly.

Chris McKenna shared that Jack is a strong character but broke down when he saw his most valued person dying. Though Carly tried to end things, she struggled to resist him, and they spent the night together. He described the scene as romantic on-screen but filled with laughter behind the scenes.

Later the actor expressed that, Jack feels guilty about what happened to Carly as Carly wasn't the actual target. And now that he knows who is behind the facade that brought Carly to the hospital bed, he is ready to avenge and will make that person pay for his doing.

When Chris was asked about how he feels working with James Patrick Stuart (Valentin), Chris said,

"Oh, it’s been so great! The only problem is, we couldn’t stop laughing. We’re supposed to be trying to kill each other, but we’re having so much fun!"

Chris shared, that he knows James from All My Children, days. The two have known each other for over 30 years.

Lastly, when Chris was asked how it feels to play the character, he said,

"When I got the role and I found out who I was going to be playing and what the history was, it was important to me to bring the danger to this guy. He has to have that darkness and real legitimate danger."

The actor also shared that he is trying to add more layers to the characters that fans of the show haven't seen.

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Fans of the show can catch the latest episodes on ABC Network and Hulu.