Michael Schoeffling - wikipedia Michael Schoeffling Michael Schoeffling Michael Earl Schoeffling ( 1960 - 12 - 10 ) December 10, 1960 ( age 56 ) Wilkes - Barre, Pennsylvania Occupation Actor Years active 1984 -- 1991 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. Contents 1 Early life & education 2 Wrestling 3 Acting career 4 Post-acting career 5 Personal life 6 Filmography 7 See also 8 References 9 External links 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 the 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 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 Ca n'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 Ca n'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 Ca n't Be Broken Al Carver 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 Biography portal Philadelphia portal References ^ Jump up to : `` Michael Schoeffling ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Stuever, Hank ( February 14, 2004 ). `` Reflections on Jake Ryan of the John Hughes Film ' Sixteen Candles ' ''. The Washington Post. Jump up ^ `` 9 Actors Who `` Quit '' Being Famous Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com External links Michael Schoeffling on IMDb VIAF : 16875453 LCCN : no2001055383 ISNI : 0000 0000 4560 8408 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Schoeffling&oldid=775608118 '' Categories : 1960 births Living people 20th - century American male actors American male film actors Male models from Pennsylvania Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni Male actors from New Jersey Male actors from Pennsylvania Actors from Wilkes - Barre, Pennsylvania Temple University alumni Hidden categories : Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from May 2013 Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Italiano Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 16 April 2017, at 00 : 22. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the actor that played jake ryan
Answer: Michael Earl Schoeffling