Robert Lee Sudduth IV generally known by his stage name

Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Skipp Sudduth, is an American theater, film, and TV actor. Sudduth is perhaps best known for his role in the movie Ronin

Ronin (film)

Ronin is a 1998 action-thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and written by J.D. Zeik and David Mamet. It stars Robert De Niro and Jean Reno as two of several former special forces and intelligence agents who team up to steal a mysterious, heavily guarded suitcase while navigating a maze of...

 and his lead in the TV drama Third Watch

Third Watch

Third Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....

.
Born in Wareham, Massachusetts

Wareham, Massachusetts

Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,335, with an estimated 2008 population of 21,221....

, the son of an engineer and a nurse, Sudduth attended George Washington High School in Danville, Virginia

Danville, Virginia

Danville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for...

. Sudduth then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

 from Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden-Sydney College

Hampden–Sydney College is a liberal arts college for men located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest private charter college in the Southern U.S., the last college founded before the American Revolution, and one of only three four-year,...

 (H-SC).
He worked for a year as Director of Alumni Relations at his alma mater in the administration of the college's then-new president Josiah Bunting III

Josiah Bunting III

Josiah Bunting III is an American educator. He has been a military officer, college president, and an author and speaker on education and Western culture.-Biography:...

, author of The Lionheads and future commandant of Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

 in Lexington.

Sudduth then worked for a year as apprentice to the winemaker with poet and vintner Tom O'Grady at Rose Bower Vineyard and Winery.