Barry Watson (actor)

Barry Watson
Born
Michael Barrett Watson

(1974-04-23) April 23, 1974 (age 47)
OccupationActor
Years active1989–present
Spouse(s)
Laura Payne-Gabriel
(m. 1996; div. 2002)

(m. 2006; div. 2011)

(m. 2014)
Children3

Michael Barrett Watson (born April 23, 1974) is an American actor, known for his roles of Matthew "Matt" Camden on 7th Heaven, Brian Davis in What About Brian, Todd Deepler in Samantha Who? and Lachlan Murdoch in The Loudest Voice.

Early life

Watson was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the third of four children of Karen, a paralegal, and Michael Watson, an attorney. At the age of eight, his family moved to Dallas, Texas, where he began his modeling career. For a period of time he studied acting at the Dallas Young Actors Studio with director Linda Seto. Watson was fourteen when his parents divorced. When he was fifteen, he moved to Burbank, California, where he immediately landed a six-month contract on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. After his contract ended, Watson moved back to Texas, and graduated from Richardson High School in 1992.

Career

When he turned 19, Watson moved back to Los Angeles, where he worked parking cars at a House of Blues nightclub while auditioning for roles. He landed guest spots in several television series such as Baywatch and Sister, Sister. Eventually he was chosen for a minor role on the Aaron Spelling series Malibu Shores. Though his role was brief, it led him to Aaron Spelling's next project 7th Heaven.

It was on The WB's 7th Heaven that Watson finally gained much recognition for his portrayal as Matt Camden. Watson said in 2016 that his mindset at the time was one of wanting to get paid despite his unsureness in the project or why the people involved wanted him to participate in the first place. He stopped being a full-time regular after the sixth season, but continued to guest star on the show until its 10th season. In his break from acting on 7th Heaven, he was brought in to write an episode by series creator and producer Brenda Hampton. He did not appear at all during the eleventh and final season. In 1999, he starred in his first feature film with fellow WB star Katie Holmes in Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Watson hoped that his role in the film would help him avoid being pigeonholed by his role in 7th Heaven. During the production, Watson felt "strange" at times due to his being the only male on set, but had "an amazing experience" working with his co-stars. Watson directed two episodes of 7th Heaven in 2005, and likewise directed one episode of Hamptons teen drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager, in 2010.[citation needed]

In 2002, Watson had a starring role as Dave and his alter ego Daisy in Sorority Boys, his performance being met with mixed reception amid the film being panned. In a negative review, Lindy Keffer of pluggedin.com lamented that Watson's presence in the film would bring it additional attention.

On April 16, 2006, Watson starred as the lead character Brian Davis, in the ABC series What About Brian. The show ended its run on March 26, 2007. Watson also starred as Todd in the ABC series Samantha Who? In 2011, he played Pax in My Future Boyfriend, an ABC Family original movie. In 2012, Watson appeared on Gossip Girl as Serena Van der Woodsen's boyfriend.

Watson has continued to land acting roles in recent years. In 2014, he enjoyed guest-starring roles on the television shows Masters of Sex and Hart of Dixie. He also starred in the television movies Far from Home and The Santa Con.

In 2019, Watson starred in the Showtime drama The Loudest Voice, which tells the story of Roger Ailes and the rise of Fox News. Watson plays the son of media mogul and owner of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch.

Personal life

Watson was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in May 2002, and took a leave of absence from 7th Heaven while he underwent treatment. As of April 2003, it was reportedly in remission, and he began appearing on the program again, starting with the 150th episode.

Watson has been married three times. His first marriage was to Laura Payne-Gabriel, whom he met through actress Tori Spelling. In December 2003, Watson was reunited with high school classmate, reality television personality Tracy Hutson, whom he had briefly dated during their twenties.[citation needed] They married in 2006. He and Tracy had their first son in May 2005, and their second son in November 2007, Felix Watson. They parted in 2011. In May 2012, Watson and girlfriend Natasha Gregson Wagner, daughter of actress Natalie Wood, had a daughter. They later married.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Teaching Mrs. Tingle Luke Churner MTV Movie Award (nominated)
Teen Choice Awards (nominated)
2001 When Strangers Appear Jack Barrett
2001 Ocean's Eleven Himself Uncredited[citation needed]
2002 Sorority Boys Dave/Daisy Teen Choice Awards (nominated)
2004 Love on the Side Jeff Sweeney
2005 Boogeyman Tim Jensen
2012 Kiss At Pine Lake Luke
2014 Far from Home Nicholas Bell
2015 Ominous Michael
2017 An Hour Behind Parker
2019 A Dog's Way Home Gavin
2019 My Mom's Letter from Heaven Connor Johnson

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Days of Our Lives Randy 3 episodes
1993 Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Teen Boy Television film
1994 The Nanny Greg Episode: "Everybody Needs a Bubby" (uncredited)[citation needed]
1995 Sister, Sister Barney Episodes: "Thanksgiving in Hawaii: Parts I & II"
1996 Baywatch Thomas Edward 'Cowboy' O'Hara Episode: "The Incident"
1996 Co-ed Call Girl Jack Collins Television film
1996 Nash Bridges Trent Episode: "Home Invasion"
1996 Malibu Shores Seth 4 episodes
1996–2006 7th Heaven Matt Camden Main Role (seasons 1–6, 9); special guest star (seasons 7–8, 10)
2006–2007 What About Brian Brian Davis Main role
2007–2009 Samantha Who? Todd Deepler Main role
2010 Drop Dead Diva Evan Episode: "Good Grief"
2011 My Future Boyfriend Pax Television film
2011 The Chateau Meroux Chris Television film
2012 Gossip Girl Steven Spence Recurring role (season 6)
2012 Wedding Band Boboroff Episode: "We Are Family"
2013 Wilfred Michael Episode: "Suspicion"
2014 Hart of Dixie Davis Polk Recurring role (season 3)
2014 Masters of Sex Shelley Decklin Episodes: "Fight", "Blackbird"
2017 Date My Dad Ricky Cooper Main role
2018 A Very Nutty Christmas Chip Television film
2019 The Loudest Voice Lachlan Murdoch Recurring role
2020 Into the Dark Henry Cameron Episode: "The Current Occupant"
2022 Naomi Greg Main role

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