In high school, he saw a notice about tryouts for a drama about pirates, and his mother urged him to give it a shot. She harbored no ambition to be a mother of a star, but she felt that Welly was too introverted and that acting might help him to build up confidence and help him express himself better.
當時他還是個高中生，學校正招募一齣海盜劇的演員，而這個招募啟事被母親看見了，就鼓勵他去試試看；母親倒沒有當星媽的企圖，而是覺得楊呈偉太內向了，希望他能利用這個機會磨練自信心與表達能力。