General Hospital’s Charles Mesure Talks Brennan and His Lovely Leading Ladies

Charles Mesure may have been a novice where soap operas were concerned, but he’s sure made a splash since joining the cast of General Hospital back in December 2023.

Charles Mesure Talks GH

“I had never really thought about [doing]…General Hospital or anything like that,” the actor confessed to Soap Opera Digest. Last year was a very strange year with the writers’ strike and the actors’ strike and so forth, and when [this audition came up], I’ll be honest about it, I thought, ‘I’m an old dog. I’m not sure if I can learn any new tricks! I’m not sure if I can adapt to the huge amount of dialogue that these fantastic actors on shows like General Hospital can learn. I’m not sure if I can suddenly be a leading man again at the age of 53!’

But Mesure’s perseverance paid off in dividends. Originally slated for a short-term stretch (and originally called John), he so impressed The Powers That Be that his services were retained indefinitely (and his character rechristened Jack so as not to be confused with John Cates).

On adjusting to the rigors of daytime, enjoying his alter-ego, and his leading ladies: “The truth is, I’ve had an absolute ball. I’m really surprised at how much fun this has been because I was so apprehensive about the workload, I was apprehensive about the pressure and the schedule and so forth, but I’ve had an absolute ball every single day I’ve been there. Part of it is the character.

“He has a massive level of narcissism and mendacity and by his own admission, in his line of work, he plays fast and loose with the truth. So every time a new script comes in, I go, ‘Okay, what story is Jack Brennan telling this week?’ …

“Also, I lucked out to be working with Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) and Laura Wright (Carly Spencer), these incredible actresses who come to play in every single scene I’ve had with them. I’m not quite sure what they’re going to do and consequently, they’re not quite sure what I’m going to do. And so there’s this space that happens where no one’s quite sure what’s going to happen and that is exhilarating to play.”

A special message to his fans…and detractors: “I really appreciate the people who find Brennan obnoxious! There are folks saying, ‘Isn’t Brennan charming, isn’t he sexy,’ and then there are folks who find him a complete jerk and I go, ‘Oh, my God, they see me! They see what I’m doing!’ Because Brennan does things that are hideous! He lies every five seconds! He’s got an incredibly sleazy, sexually aggressive side and so on. And when people remark about that on [X, formerly Twitter], I appreciate that, too, you know? I appreciate that people see all sides of the dude, because he’s no Boy Scout.”

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