Wang's parents were not supportive of his acting ambitions. His father emigrated from Taiwan to attend graduate school in the States and did not view acting as a stable career choice. His mother had been accepted to Taiwan School of Drama in her youth but did not go due to her father's objections. When his parents met actress Bonnie Franklin at an airport in Hawaii, she told them that Wang would never make in the business. His mother eventually even suggested that he join the military to learn some discipline.