Early life
Watson was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana. His father died when he was five years old, and Watson and his three siblings were raised by their mother and maternal grandfather. Watson said his grandfather had a big influence on him, and after finding out that Robert Gravel was already registered with the Screen Actors Guild, he legally changed his name to Muse Watson Gravel, in honor of his grandfather. Watson graduated from Bolton High School in 1966, and then attended Louisiana Tech for two years on a music scholarship. After leaving Louisiana Tech, he transferred to Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.
It was at Berea College where he became interested in acting, scoring a role as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew. He then left Berea and went on the road starring in productions of Man of La Mancha and Promises, Promises. After a year of touring, he returned to Berea, but at graduation time, he was told his degree would be withheld because he hadn't "gone to church enough". He decided to leave school and moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to live with his sister. He worked for Pathway Bellows for seven years before moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee to work as a manufacturing representative, while still making time for auditions and plays.
Career
Watson is credited with appearing in more than 60 movies and 50 television episodes. He is best known for his recurring roles of Mike Franks on NCIS and Charles Westmoreland in Prison Break, and as Ben Willis, the killer in the horror films, I Know What You Did Last Summer and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and as the vampire C. W. Niles in From Dusk Till Dawn 2.
Other notable appearances include: American Outlaws, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, A Day Without a Mexican, Dead Birds, Down in the Valley, IOWA, Morgan's Ferry and Songcatcher.
When Watson was living in Chattanooga, he was hired to do extras casting for King Kong Lives. He also made connections with people in the North Carolina film industry and became a Teamster, building his own fleet of trucks that he hired out for productions on the East Coast. After a guest appearance on Matlock and his role in Something to Talk About, he moved to Los Angeles where Marion Dougherty helped him in obtaining an agent. Watson said he considers his appearance in the film Something to Talk About as his "breakout role".
He has also directed theater for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Bessie Smith Foundation, taught acting at the Georgia State Prison, and taught reading and writing at Berea College's literacy outreach program. Before changing his name to Muse Watson, he had credits as Robert Gravel, working as a stunt driver in Steel Magnolias and Mississippi Burning. In the film I Know What You Did Last Summer, Watson performed the majority of his own stunts, which included a very long underwater sequence.
In 2002, he was nominated for best supporting actor for his role in If I Die Before I Wake at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, and in 2011, won best actor for his performance in A Christmas Snow, at the Trail Dance Film Festival.
Watson starred in a stage adaptation of the TV movie A Christmas Snow at the Starlite Theater in Branson, Missouri.
In 2007, Watson made a guest appearance on Ghost Whisperer in the episode "Delia's First Ghost"; the episode reunited with his I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star and series star Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays Melinda Gordon on the show.
