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Peter Wang

b. 1938

American actor and director

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About Peter Wang

Born 1938. Peter Wang is an American actor, film director, screenwriter and director.

Peter Wang is a Taiwanese actor and director from Beijing. He is best known for writing and directing the 1986 film, A Great Wall, the first American feature to be co-produced by the People's Republic of China.

Wang was born in Beijing but grew up in Taiwan following the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949. Wang emigrated to the United States in the 1970s to pursue a PhD in electro-optics at the University of Pennsylvania but during a teaching stint at San Mateo College in the Bay Area, he began acting at San Francisco's Asian Living Theatre. Wang's first film role came as Henry, a singing Chinatown chef, in Wayne Wang's Chan Is Missing (1982). In 1983, Wang and producer Shirley Sun partnered with the Chinese production company, Nanhai, and this led to Wang writing, directing and starring in A Great Wall. For 1988's sci-fi film The Laser Man, Wang revisited his experiences in graduate school where he had studied laser weapon research.

Filmography Chan Is Missing (1982) A Great Wall (1986) The Laser Man (1988) First Date (1989)

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Important facts

Born
1938, Beijing
Birth century
Nationality
Education
Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School
Employers
IBM
Also known as
Wang Zhengfang, Peter Wang Zheng-Fang, Wong Jing-Fong, Wang Peter

People in Peter Wang's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Peter Wang's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Peter Wang?

American actor and director

When was Peter Wang born?

Peter Wang was born in 1938 in Beijing.

What is Peter Wang's occupation?

Peter Wang is an actor, film director, screenwriter and director.

What nationality is Peter Wang?

Peter Wang is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Peter Wang

· Wikidata: Q21932227

· DBpedia: Peter Wang

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Peter Wang. https://biography.guide/peter-wang-actor/

MLA: "Peter Wang." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/peter-wang-actor/.

Chicago: "Peter Wang." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/peter-wang-actor/.

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