This stylish British director began his career--while still quite young--working as a camera assistant on the films "A Bridge Too Far" (1977), "Superman" (1978), "Superman II" (1980) and "The Duellists" (1977). Born in Dublin to a film family (his father was an actor and technician, his mother a director), Barron knew his way around a film set as a child. He made his feature debut with the video-oriented "Electric Dreams" (1984), which won awards at festivals in Madrid and France. During the mid-80s, he began directing hit music videos for Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson ("Billie Jean"), Dire Straits ("Money For Nothing"), A-HA ("Take On Me") and Natalie Cole ("Unforgettable"), among others.

Barron returned to features with the action-comedy "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1990), which went on to become the highest grossing independent feature to date (grossing over $300 million worldwide). He continued making escapist fare with "Coneheads" (1993), a film adaptation of the classic "Saturday Night Live" sketch. In 1994, he began a producing career, acting as co-executive producer on the Sylvester Stallone-Sharon Stone actioner "The Specialist" and the hit romantic comedy "While You Were Sleeping" (1995). He returned behind the cameras to helm the live-action adaptation of "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1996) starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Martin Landau. This latter film also marked Barron's debut as a screenwriter.

Of course, Barron's music videos were seen on TV, but he made his official small-screen debut directing "Hans My Hedgehog" and "Fearnot" (NBC, 1987), the first two segments of "The Storyteller" series. In 1994, he executive-produced "Reboot" (ABC), the premiere for the first fully computer-animated children's series. Barron has also directed numerous TV commercials in England and the USA for Pepsi, Coke, Ford, Renault and other clients. In 1997, he entered into an agreement with Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment that resulted in his helming such acclaimed TV miniseries as the Emmy-nominated "Merlin" (NBC, 1998) and "Arabian Night" (ABC, 2000).