-
Name: Barry Watson
-
Date of Birth:
April 23, 1974
-
Place of Birth:
Traverse City, Michigan, USA
Mini-bio:
With an appearance and aura that seemed tailor-made for heartthrob roles, actor Barry Watson indeed made his name as an onscreen post-adolescent hunk -- playing nice guy preacher's son Matt Camden (on... read moree of the seven children of Rev. Eric Camden) on the blockbuster series 7th Heaven -- a character that made millions of young women swoon and did much to account for the program's runaway success. As Watson crested the peak of his popularity, it seemed that only wonderful things lay ahead for him. Then, an unexpected piece of devastating news hit the international press in 2002. Watson announced his own diagnosis with Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphatic cancer. Utterly imperturbable, the courageous young actor determined to beat the condition, and in fact did so by enduring a six-month course of chemotherapy that brought him back to 100 percent. Concurrently, Camden not only continued to appear on Heaven but even forked off into supporting roles in theatrical features. Projects included Kevin Williamson's jet-black comedy thriller Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), the George Clooney heist outing Ocean's Eleven (2001), and the horror vehicle Boogeyman (2005). In 2006, not long before Heaven wrapped, Watson (perhaps sensing the drama's closure) signed to appear on a new program. Producers tapped him for first-billing in the hour-long weekly drama What About Brian -- an ensemble series that told of a young, single thirtysomething in Los Angeles surviving a series of desperate attempts by his married friends to help him find his soul mate. Unfortunately, that program folded, but within a year, the actor landed another plum small-screen role, as the steady boyfriend of an amnesia patient (Christina Applegate) on the sitcom Samantha Who? ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
Barry Watson mini-bio: Watson was born in Traverse City, Michigan in 1974. He moved to Dallas, Texas at the age of eight, and found some work as a model. When he was fifteen, he moved to Burbank, California, soon finding a job on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Afterwards, he moved back to Texas, and graduated from Richardson High School in Richardson in 1992.
When he turned 19, Watson moved back to Los Angeles, where he worked parking cars at a House of Blues nightclub, and later found a minor role on the Aaron Spelling series Malibu Shores. Spelling's daughter Tori introduced him to his first wife, Laura Payne-Gabriel.
Watson was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in May 2002, and went on hiatus 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. He may make an appearance in the final episode, due to his character's key role in the Camden family on the show. He is currently engaged to Tracy Hutson. He and Tracy had their first child, Oliver, on May 2, 2005, and a second child, Yusuf, was born on June 15, 2006.
Watson starred in "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" as Luke in 1999. Watson also appeared as Dave/Daisy (the lead character) in the comedy "Sorority Boys (2002)".
Watson currently appears as the title character in the television series What About Brian.
