Jack Hannah

Jack Theodore Hannah is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Portrayed by Reuben Milner since 2014 in what was originally a 4-episode stint, the character became a regular character in the following years and had a family unit written around him. After 9 years on and off, Jack would leave in 2023. Creation and casting The character of Jack was created as a guest character for the show, scheduled to appear for 4 episodes. Jack was written as the "First XV rugby player for Ferndale High" in what was to be a short storyline. Reuben Milner was a teenage actor that had previously "turned his nose up" at working on Shortland Street and told himself that, "no matter what happens, if I get offered a part on Shorty, I'll turn it down." Despite this, he auditioned for the role of Kane Jenkins, a character created to depict teenage suicide. Milner lost out on the role but his audition was archived and he was recalled in February 2014 to audition for the role of Jack. He explained his change of mind in taking the role as, "I figured out how hard it was to get auditions let alone land parts, so when I was in my final year of high school and they asked me to audition, I was like, 'Yes, Yes, Yes!'" He was cast as Jack and described himself as being, "shell-shocked" onset as he was, " looking around and thinking 'I know these people' and I'd be like 'OK that's them'. I was quite nervous but as soon as I got on set, because I've experienced set life before, I was like 'Oh yeah, this is all right'" Following the end of his stint, Milner's contract was extended over various guest stints before signing a regular contract in November 2014. Milner was pleased with this extension, stating, "When I heard the news, I was like, wow, this is amazing. I loved it. It's another step up for my acting." In 2015 Milner was informed by producers that they intended to make Jack a permanent character and have a family unit introduced around him. Following the departure of the Hannah family onscreen throughout 2019, Jack remained as the last member before Milner departed the soap in mid 2019 and acknowledged, "It's going to be hard to wake up and say I'm not Jack any more." Jack's final scenes aired on 7 August 2019. In 2020 fuelled by fan demand, Producers asked Milner to reprise his role for a guest stint to reunite with on-screen brother Jayden Daniels (Curtis Hannah).