Michael Earl Schoeffling is an American actor best remembered for playing Jake Ryan in the 1984 comedy Sixteen Candles. Numerous fans developed feelings for Schoeffling after seeing him play Jake Ryan when he was 24 years old. But in 1991, at the age of just 31, the teen movie star decided to call it quits. Read to know all about the star.
Michael Earl Schoeffling’s Biography
Michael Schoeffling was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA, on 10 December 1960. Michael grew up in South Jersey, where he attended school. He went on to complete his high school education at Cherokee High School in Evesham Township, New Jersey, before returning to his home state of Pennsylvania to complete his liberal arts degree at Temple University. He was also a skilled wrestler who competed for the US Jr. Wrestling Team and took home numerous domestic and international titles.
The former actor and model is a family man with a wife and two children. His wife is Valerie Robinson. He has a son named Zane Schoeffling and a daughter named Scarlett Schoeffling. Zane maintains a peaceful life, while Scarlett has dabbled in acting. Schoeffling doesn’t use social media, but his daughter Scarlett does. His daughter occasionally shares photos of her dad on her Instagram page.
Career Of Michael Earl Schoeffling
He first relocated to Europe and explored the continent. Schoeffling then started modelling for GQ. At that point, he linked up with photographer Bruce Weber, who began funding Schoeffling’s acting lessons at the Manhattan-based Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Schoeffling was frequently placed in touch with casting directors while also honing his acting skills and modelling. It didn’t take him long to meet someone who handed him his first important role. Schoeffling landed his first significant role in the comedy film Sixteen Candles in 1984, where he played the character Jake Ryan.
In the years that followed, the actor secured a number of parts in numerous TV series and film genres. He appeared as an amputee soldier in Racing with the Moon in 1984, as Kenny “Kuch” Kuchera in Vision Quest in 1985, as Lance in The Hitchhiker (episode: Dead Man’s Curve), and as Al Carver in Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken in 1991.
He worked diligently over the entire decade, landing role after role. Schoeffling made an appearance in Sylvester, Let’s Get Harry, Belizaire the Cajun, Longtime Companion, Mermaids, and Slaves of New York,
Michael’s final movie role was in 1991’s Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. He gave up acting and started a business. Michael Schoeffling reportedly tried his hand at carpentry. He operates a woodworking shop in Pennsylvania, where he resides.
Michael Earl Schoeffling And Sixteen Candles
At the age of 23, Schoeffling was given the lead role of Jake Ryan in the iconic 1984 picture Sixteen Candles despite having only had a brief uncredited appearance in the movie Racing with the Moon.
Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald were his co-stars. The movie, which was directed by John Hughes, starred Schoeffling as an adolescent heartthrob that Samantha “Sam” Baker lusted after. The movie was a hit, and Schoeffling’s career appeared to be off to a great start.
What Is The Michael Doing Now?
“The thing about furniture that’s much better than acting is that it’s just me. There’s no director, no script — the concept is me; unless a client wants something. In film work, you do the best you can under the given circumstances, but you don’t have control.”
