Wang was born in Riverside, California, to Taiwanese immigrant parents. He has one sister. Growing up, Wang moved often. He attended kindergarten in Indiana before moving to Bermuda, then to Memphis, Tennessee, and then back to California.
In the summer of 1990, he attended a Taiwanese-state sponsored cultural exchange program, which was the first time in his life when he wasn't the only Asian around. One of the reasons he decided to get into acting was to provide for other Asian Americans a role model in the entertainment industry—a predominantly non-Asian environment. Wang graduated from Harding Academy High School in Memphis.
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 it in the business. His mother eventually even suggested that he join the military to learn some discipline.

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