Michael Barret Watson (named for the hero in a romance novel his godmother was reading) is a native Midwesterner - he was born on April 23, 1974 in Traverse City, Michigan and lived there until his family (including older brother and sister Scott and Christie and younger brother Kip) relocated to the Dallas suburb of Richardson in 1982.

Barry began modeling at age 8, but quickly decided to quit "hanging around posing" in favor of being "just a kid." When his manager suggested acting, though, his interest was renewed and he began doing commercials for products like "Jump Dancer" (a spinning jump rope). Acting appealed to him more than his schoolwork, and he confesses to being a less than devoted student. Life at home became difficult, too, when his parents divorced in 1988. At age 15, looking for a way to get "out of where I was," he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in show business.

His first role materialized quickly: a 6-month run on the popular soap opera Days of Our Lives. When that ended, though, a follow-up job failed to appear, and Barry returned to Dallas for his senior year in high school, graduating from Richardson High with the Class of 1992. To earn money for a return trip to L.A., he worked as head cashier at a craft store and as a temp in the mailroom at Ross Perot's campaign offices while taking classes at the local community college.