Michael Schoeffling
Michael Earl Schoeffling (born December 10, 1960) is an American former actor and male model, known for playing the role of Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles, Al Carver in Wild Hearts Can't be Broken, Kuch in Vision Quest, and Joe in Mermaids.[1]
Michael Schoeffling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Earl Schoeffling December 10, 1960 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1984–1991 |
Early life and 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,[1] 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 alongside coach Archie Stalcup. His considerable wrestling skills were downplayed as 'Kuch' in Vision Quest, where he was a teammate of a character played by Matthew Modine.
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 on whom Molly Ringwald's character has a crush 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.[2]
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.[1]
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.
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.[3]
In 2005, a poll was conducted by Teen Magazine, which ranked Shoeffling #22 on its list of "Biggest Hunks of the 1980's."
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | Sixteen Candles | Jake Ryan | |
| Racing with the Moon | Amputee Soldier | Uncredited | |
| 1985 | Sylvester | Matt | |
| Vision Quest | Kenny "Kuch" Kuchera | ||
| 1986 | Let's Get Harry | Corey Burck | |
| Belizaire the Cajun | Hypolite Leger | ||
| 1989 | Longtime Companion | Michael | |
| Slaves of New York | Jan | ||
| 1990 | Mermaids | Joe Perretti | |
| 1991 | Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken | Al Carver | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | The Hitchhiker | Lance | Episode: "Dead Man's Curve" |
See also
References
- "Michael Schoeffling". The New York Times. 2019-08-08.
- Stuever, Hank (February 14, 2004). "Reflections on Jake Ryan of the John Hughes Film 'Sixteen Candles'". The Washington Post.
- "9 Actors Who "Quit" Being Famous Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
External links
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