Michael Schoeffling Biography

Michael Earl 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.

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 alongside coach Archie Stalcup. His considerable wrestling skills were downplayed as 'Kuch' in Vision Quest, where he wrestled with Matthew Modine, his friend in movie.

Acting career

Schoeffling came to international prominence at the age of 23 for his role as Jake Ryan, the popular yet sensitive high school athlete whom Molly Ringwald's character has a crush on, in the teen film Sixteen Candles. 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.

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 and 1991's Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken.

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. Since giving up acting, he has produced handcrafted furniture as the owner of a woodworking shop.

Personal life

Schoeffling lives with his wife Valerie C. Robinson, a former model, in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania. Robinson is an actress, known for Patty Hearst (1988), One Shoe Makes It Murder (1982) and Having Babies II (1977). They have two children, Scarlet and Zane.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1991	Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken	Al Carver
1990	Mermaids	Joe Perretti
1989	Longtime Companion	Michael
1989	Slaves of New York	Jan
1986	Let's Get Harry	Corey Burck
1986	Belizaire the Cajun	Hypolite Leger
1985	Sylvester	Matt
1985	Vision Quest	Kuch
1984	Sixteen Candles	Jake Ryan
1984	Racing with the Moon	Amputee Soldier	Uncredited Role
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Deadly Nightmares	Lance	Episode: "Dead Man's Curve"

See also