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.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.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.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.
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.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.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.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.
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