Michael Schoeffling

Michael Schoeffling (born December 10, 1960) is an American former actor, and male model, known for playing Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles, Kuch in Vision Quest, and Joe in Mermaids.

Early life & education

Schoeffling was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and raised in South Jersey. He graduated from Cherokee High School in New Jersey, and majored in Liberal Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia. In the mid-1980s he began modeling for GQ, and photographer Bruce Weber paid for his acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Manhattan.^[1]

Wrestling

An accomplished youth and collegiate wrestler, Michael has won medals in various national and international tournaments. He won a gold medal for the United States in freestyle wrestling, as a member of the National Junior Wrestling Team in a meet held in Munich, Germany in 1978.^[2] His considerable wrestling skills were downplayed as 'Kuch' in Vision Quest, where he wrestled Matthew Modine, his teammate in the movie, and lost by fall in a wrestle off.

Acting career

Schoeffling came to international prominence at the age of 23 for his role as Jake Ryan in teen film Sixteen Candles, the popular yet sensitive high school athlete that Molly Ringwald's character has a crush on. For Valentine's Day in 2004, twenty years after the film's American premiere, the Washington Post ran an article entitled "Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of Sixteen Candles", which discussed the character's enduring appeal.^[3]

He appeared in eight additional films after Sixteen Candles, including roles in Vision Quest and Mermaids, and a starring role in the 1986 action film Let's Get Harry.

Post-acting career

Schoeffling retired from acting in 1991; in various magazine and newspaper interviews, he stated that the lack of roles and a growing family to feed were his reasons for retiring^{[citation needed]}. Since giving up acting, he has produced handcrafted furniture as the owner of a woodworking shop.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Schoeffling lives with his wife, Valerie L. Robinson of Virginia, also a former model, in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania. They have two children, Scarlet and Zane.

Filmography

See also

References

External links

• Michael Schoeffling at the Internet Movie Database
• Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of 'Sixteen Candles' Washington Post article