As a child, Malek said he spent a lot of time "creating characters and doing voices," and so searched for an outlet for that energy.[14] He attended Notre Dame High School, and was in the same class as actress Rachel Bilson.[15] Kirsten Dunst, who was a year younger, also attended the school, and the two shared a musical theater class.[16] His parents harbored dreams of him becoming a lawyer, and so he joined the debate team.[4] Though he struggled to form arguments, his debate teacher noted his talent in the area of dramatic interpretation, and encouraged him to instead perform the one-man play Zooman and The Sign at the competition.[6][17] His parents' positive reaction to his performance made him feel free to pursue an acting career.[17] That first performance helped Malek realize the power of acting because it was the first he ever saw his father become emotional, saying, "On stage I'm having this moment with my dad with a bunch of other people [in the audience], but then I thought, wow, something really special is happening here".[18]