<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Actor </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 1984--1991 </Td> </Tr> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

Who is the actor that played jake ryan