Jack Brennan

John "Jack" Brennan was born in Chicago, the son of a Greek mother and an Irish father. He was raised with his Greek grandparents in the home, and so learned Greek as a child. Upon taking a childhood vacation to Arizona, he fell in love with the West and attended Arizona State University after graduating from Niles East High School in Skokie. He worked his way through school in restaurants and by doing construction work. Having had a few experiences in school plays and such, he auditioned for, and got, work as an extra and a stand-in for the 1977 release of A Star Is Born. Soon after, he attended a 600-hour Professional Acting Class through Plaza Three Academy, which included such studies as Classical Theater, Tap & Jazz, Ballet (under Leslie Collis and Jack Van Natter, among others), Stage Combat, Scene Study, Improvisation, and other subjects. He was awarded Student of the Month in October 1981, and was signed with the Plaza Three Agency upon graduating. Most of what was available at the time was modeling and commercials, so late in 1982, he decided to move to Los Angeles, initially living in the Chateau Laurier on 5th & Wilton, and working in Pastel, a French Bistro on Rodeo Drive. John got more extra and stand-in work on 1984's Tuff Turf, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and James Spader, and was cast as the character "Samurai" in Neon Maniacs; however, production ran late, and he had to give the role away to due a scheduling conflict. John married Christine Spezze later that year, and shortly thereafter, enlisted in the Navy. Assigned to NAS Miramar in San Diego as an F-14 mechanic, he fixed jets by day, and waited tables by night, as there was no housing available and real-world rents in San Diego were expensive, as always. John and Christine had two children in California, and upon completion of his enlistment, the family would add two more children after moving back to Arizona. John banked the fires of his acting dreams, becoming a fine service waiter, maitre d', and eventually the General Manager of Harris' Restaurant, which under his direction won Best Steak House in the New Times, and was written up in Gourmet Magazine and Zagat Survey, and won Awards of Excellence from The Wine Spectator. It wasn't acting, but it was definitely a show. Tired of the instabilities and the increasing corporatization of the industry, John eventually left restaurants, and utilizing some of the technical skills gained in the Navy, entered the field of telematics. The children grew and left for lives of their own. John and Christine were empty-nesters. The obligations of raising a family were fulfilled; could there be some time left for acting once again? John was approached by Abraham Archambault to play the role of "Ralph" for his new screenplay, Loon Lake, at the Chandler Film Festival in 2020. He accepted gladly, and filming commenced in Oregon in March of 2021. He is extremely happy to be acting again, and eagerly anticipates whatever may happen next!