“Very disappointed”— General Hospital fans criticize Jack Brennan’s recast, upset that his beloved Australian accent is gone

This week, General Hospital recast Jack Brennan, with Chris McKenna replacing Charles Mesure, who left suddenly. Mesure's final episode aired on January 30, and McKenna debuted on February 4.

However, after Mesure's debut on the soap, many fans of the soap seemed upset at the recast. These audience members took to Facebook to discuss the reasons behind their outlook under this post:

A fan post about the reasons that they did not like Chris McKenna being recast as Jack Brennan (via Elizabeth Bairami / Facebook)

Under the post, some fans started to agree with the sentiment, expressing their disappointment that the actor had left the soap:

"I agree. Why did the Sexy Jack leave. Very disappointed"

An audience member asking why Charles Mesure left the soap and the character (via Elizabeth Bairami / Facebook)

This was a sentiment that seemed to be common for all fans, who wondered why the recast took place:

Viewers commenting on the absence of Charles Mesure as Jack Brennan on screen (via Elizabeth Bairami / Facebook)

However, many fans also took the new actor's side, trying to convince others to give him some time to adapt to the role and establish his presence on screen:

A viewer stating that Chris McKenna should be given a chance to prove himself on the soap (via Elizabeth Bairami / Facebook)

Other fans agreeing that the role needed some time and the actor might surprise fans with his performance (via Elizabeth Bairami / Facebook)

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Who has taken over the role of Jack Brennan on General Hospital? Actor involvement explored

Actor Chris McKenna, who has been recast as Jack Brennan, in a still from one of his first scenes on General Hospital (Image via @generalhospitalabc / Instagram)

Actor Chris McKenna has taken over the role of Jack Brennan on General Hospital after actor Charles Mesure decided to exit the soap. In an interview with TV Insider (published on February 3, 2025), McKenna shared details about his audition and his conversation with the showrunner Frank Valentini.

McKenna stated that he initially had no clue about who he was auditioning for on the soap. He mentioned that the writers gave him a scene for the audition that was reminiscent of Brennan, but they didn’t use the character's name. He also mentioned that his now co-star Laura Wright, who plays Carly, was very supportive of him:

Laura Wright in the role of Carly Corinthos in a still from General Hospital (Image via @generalhospitalabc / Instagram)

“Laura very sweetly wrote me a message and said, ‘Listen, don’t be daunted by the amount of pages, I’ll work with you and Eden [McCoy] will work with you and we’ll read together and it’ll be great.’ ”

Apart from his current role, the actor has appeared in other soaps before. He played Dr. Hayden on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2016. Before that, from 2014 to 2015, McKenna had a run on The Young and the Restless as a killer cop named Mark Harding.

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Audiences can watch General Hospital airing via the ABC Channel. New episodes of the soap are released via the platform on all weekdays.