‘Old guy’ Watson still a clown on set

Like many children of the late ’70s and ’80s, Michael Landon’s TV shows “Little House on the Prairie” and “Highway to Heaven” were appointment viewing for Barry Watson.

That’s why when he was given the opportunity to co-star opposite Jill Scott in the recently aired film remake of “Highway to Heaven” for Lifetime, he was all for it.

“Michael Landon was such a huge, huge part of my childhood,” said Watson. “I was just really honored to be a part of it and nervous as well.”

In this “Highway to Heaven,” Scott is an angel sent from heaven. Watson played school principal, serving as Scott’s sidekick — similar to the role Victor French played in the series.

Watson is now filming a new Ava DuVernayproduced series called “Naomi” for The CW — a DC superhero show starring Kaci Walfall. Watson plays her dad.

To be cast as the parent of a teen is interesting for Watson, now 47, who first became known as Matt Camden, the eldest child in the Aaron Spelling wholesome drama “7th Heaven,” a show about a reverend and his large family that ran from 1996 to 2007.

“It feels bizarre because I still goof off, and I’m pretty much still a clown on set, yet everybody comes to me with questions about stuff, and I’m like, ‘Oh, right, because I’m the old guy who’s been doing this for a while now,’ ” he said.

Watson — who has starred in two projects with the word “heaven” in the title and jokes “what’s the next heaven thing I’m gonna do?” — was raised Roman Catholic. He identifies as spiritual rather than religious.

“I think everybody’s got some sort of spirituality within them,” he says. “We’re all angels, we’re all here to help each other out, and I think there’s something very spiritual about humanity in that way.”

Doing good and giving back is important to Watson and his family. His wife is Natasha Gregson Wagner, daughter of producer Richard Gregson and film star Natalie Wood. Her stepdad is Robert Wagner. Watson and Wagner share a daughter, Clover, 9, and Watson has two sons from a previous relationship, Felix, 13, and Oliver, 16.

During the height of the pandemic, Watson and Wagner sent gift cards and food to his hometown hospital, Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan. Clover would send letters to the doctors and nurses.

Watson is especially grateful to health care workers because almost

20 years ago he had his own serious health battle. In 2002, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 28. He underwent chemotherapy and has been in remission since

2003.

“It’s still such a big part of my life because I still think about it, but also time has passed where it’s almost like, ‘Did that really happen? Did I really go through all that?’ And now having this whole other life with my wife and my kids that they weren’t even a part of that time, it feels like a lifetime ago,” he said.

Nov. 14 birthdays: Actor Kathleen Hughes is 93. Pianist Yanni is 67. Rapper Joseph “Reverend Run” Simmons is 57. Actor Patrick Warburton is 57. Actor Josh Duhamel is 49. Drummer Travis Barker is

46. Actor Brian Dietzen is

44. Actor Olga Kurylenko is 42. Comedian Vanessa Bayer is 40. Actor Cory Michael Smith is 35.

CHRIS PIZZELLO/AP Barry Watson, seen Oct. 22 at his Los Angeles home, rose to fame as Matt Camden on “7th Heaven.”