Xochitl Gomez Had A Golf Cart Race With Benedict Cumberbatch On The "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" Set (2024)

Xochitl Gomez (pronounced as Sew-chee) is on the come-up. The 16-year-old got her start in musical theater as a kid and went on to perform in 22 (!) live productions before taking on roles in independent films. It wasn't until 2019 that she was cast as Dawn Schafer in season 1 of Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club, which helped her build her resumé (seriously, it's already sooo impressive) and land the breakout role of America Chavez in the latest installment to the uber-successful Marvel franchise, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which hits theaters on May 6, BTW — mark your calendar!).

Ahead of the film's release, Xochitl caught up with Seventeen to chat about her experience on set with Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen, what it means to represent her Latinx heritage on screen, and how she's styled her red carpet looks with the help of her mom. So, if you haven't already become acquainted with the newest addition to the Marvel family, get ready to meet Xochitl Gomez.

17: When did you realize you wanted to pursue acting and what did your parents think about it as a career choice?

Xochitl Gomez: When I was five years old, my mom put me in musical theater and I just absolutely loved it. I was always in a show or rehearsing for a show and I did it till I was 12. I did like, 22 musicals, and I just loved being on stage and performing. I also loved bonding with the cast and just all the excitement leading up to the show. It gave me a real passion for acting as well, and then I started doing on-camera stuff when I was 10 and my mom was super supportive. She was the one that was driving me literally all over LA and she even quit her job [to help me].

17: Are there any musicals you’d love to star in someday and why?

XG: Well one of the last musicals I did, I played Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie and I was so proud of that performance. I've thought about playing that character again because it was just so good, but I was so young at that time. I don't think I can hit those notes anymore, but it would be fun to play that character again.

17: What’s your current favorite song or album?

XG: Peter McPoland, I love his songs "Sally Forth" and "Romeo and Juliet." Like, almost all of his songs. I'm obsessed.

17: What is your favorite memory from working on The Baby-Sitters Club?

XG: I mean, it was sad that I could only do one season of The Baby-Sitters Club since I obviously wanted to do the second season, but both the show and Doctor Strange were filming at the same time. It was during [peak] COVID, so I couldn't fly from England to Canada. I was really bummed out. It's really nice to have those kinds of friendships with the girls. It's so hard to have friendships outside of people who are in the acting world because it's something that they can't really understand. It was everyone's first big TV show like that, and we did it all together. Those friendships are something that I won't forget.

I do feel bad that BSC didn't get renewed because it was a huge success in terms of what it did to represent the lives of girls my age as complex individuals with real issues to tackle. Critics loved it and every kid saw themselves somewhere on the show. There are very few shows that celebrate girls' lives with the kind of authenticity and as a fan, you know, of the show and the books, I will miss it and the gap that they filled for young girls on a positive note.

17: Is there anything you’ve learned from your co-stars who have had successful careers in the entertainment industry?

XG: Lizzie [Elizabeth] Olsen gave me fantastic advice. She told me to never hesitate to share an idea or suggestion with Marvel, that they really care about my input. I did take that advice, I'm not gonna lie. On set, I would give my opinion about little things and about my character here and there. It would be really rewarding to actually see it happen when we were filming scenes and I'd be like, "Wow, they actually listened and they cared." Especially at my age.

17: Who’s the most famous person in your phone contacts?

XG: Well, he isn't in my phone contacts, but he is in my DMs — Simu Liu. When I was at Spider-Man: No Way Home premiere, there were tons of famous people there. I was too scared to go up to Tom Holland and Zendaya, even though I'm a huge fan of theirs. I was like, "No, they've got things happening," but I saw my chance with Simu Liu [when he was] just kinda standing there. I went up to him and I was like, "Hi, I'm Xochitl Gomez. I'm playing America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and this is such an honor getting to meet you. I saw you in Shang-Chi at the premiere and you were just amazing." We talked for a little bit and then he DMed me on Instagram and I, of course, flipped out. He's been super sweet and supportive, actually. Recently, I asked him if he was going to the [Doctor Strange] premiere and he was like, "No, I can't, but you're gonna kill it. You've got this," and I was like, "Oh my gosh, that means so much to me."

17: How did you react to landing the role of America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?

XG: I was actually at home and it was two days after I'd gotten back from doing my screen test and audition in England. I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom and my agent was like, "Okay, I gotta just show you something on Zoom real quick." I fell for her little trick and [casting director] Sarah Finn was on the phone. She was like, "So are you sitting down? Because I need to tell you something." I was like, "What's going on?" and then she goes, "Welcome to the MCU, you're America Chavez." I just sat there and froze. It did take me a couple of weeks to process the news and be like, "Okay, this is happening."

17: Are there elements of America’s character you can relate to? What has playing America taught you?

XG: What I've realized is that we're both resilient and we're optimistic. I do find that she's not very trusting, she has some trust issues and she's unsure of everybody [she crosses paths with]. When the whole world is against her, she's just marching on like, "I gotta keep moving," and I really like that about her, you know? I feel like I'm a little bit like that.

17: Were you a Marvel fan before working on the movie?

XG: I mean, I've been a Marvel fan for a while. I just really liked the movies and watched them a couple of times. I really — of course — like Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, and Spider-Man. Those are more on the recent side, but they're just so good. Then TV shows like WandaVision, Loki, and Moon Knight. I mean, Oscar Isaac in Moon Knight is just so perfect — he's just such a great actor.

17: How did you prep for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Is there a lot of physical training?

XG: I do martial arts, I did that prior to The Baby-Sitters Club. I had a little bit of martial arts under my belt, but when I was auditioning and I got a callback, I did training with a stuntman friend of mine. We trained for like a month [and did] kickboxing and stunt tumbling every other day for a couple of hours. It was intense, but I felt like it was necessary because if I got to the next stage, I didn't wanna do a little and be nervous. I wanted to go in there and own it and I wanted [the Marvel team] to be blown away by my skills. Once I got the role, I would run every night and I would do strength training. It was also my first time doing wirework, so I was also getting over my fear of heights. You know, normal stuff being flung around. It's fine.

17: Do you have any favorite memories from working on the film with Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen?

XG: One day we were filming, and there were these golf carts on set. I had to take advantage of that since I'm kinda the age you start learning how to drive. So I was like, "What's better than starting to drive on a golf cart?" I was just hanging out on the golf cart and then, I see Benedict just driving one and I was like, "This is an opportunity. We're gonna race." So, I floored it and we were racing with our golf carts. I'd say that I won, although he has a different opinion on that. It was funny because it was so unexpected, but there was an entire crowd watching us do the whole thing and cheering us on.

17: What is your dream role for a future project?

XG: I've been thinking about what all the other Marvel actors have done, like indie movies, but also large stage movies too. I'm thinking about following in their footsteps, but I do have some ideas for music videos that I'd like to shoot for artists that I really like just because lots of the directors that I like started in music videos. So, that just seems like a good way to start. Also just through TikTok, I'm like directing my own dance videos and montages. I find so much joy in that. It's like, why not start doing music videos?

17: You posted a pic of you and your Baby-Sitters Club co-star, Momona Tamada, on an edited Seventeen magazine cover. How does it feel to be featured in the real thing?

XG: I did that as a joke because I was like, "This is like an album cover, this photo's so great." I just took it into my own hands and did some editing on an app. It was so funny and some people fell for it and I had to clear it up like, "Y'all, this is fake." I've been thinking about doing a birthday piece [with Seventeen] for a while. Ever since I turned 15, which was a really big deal for me since it was my quinceñera, I wanted to wear the big poofy dress and have a party and all that. But, it was COVID and ultimately people were like, "I'm sorry. Nah, I'm not interested." It's exciting that it's finally happening and what's better than celebrating your 16th birthday that's right before your new movie comes out?

17: As a Mexican-American actress, you’re representing your heritage and the Latinx community. How does it feel to know that some people see themselves through you and your characters?

XG: It's incredible. I had a little bit of this experience when I was playing Dawn [on The Baby-Sitters Club] and it was so heartwarming to get messages from fans through DM requests — I would look at 'em. Some people think that I don't, but I definitely do. People would send the sweetest things, like that they see themselves on-screen because I'm there. There were definitely a few of them that made me cry — and I hardly cry — because it showed how much it means to everybody that it's important to feel represented. It made me feel really happy, and I'm just glad to be doing that with America Chavez on a bigger scale.

17: Do you have any hidden talents?

XG: I have two really good ones that are just so weird. I can cross my eyes and make one go in [toward my nose] and one straight. Then the other one is that I can make this weird cricket sound with my tongue. I've been able to do it since I was very little.

17: You always have the cutest red carpet outfits. How do you go about choosing what to wear to specific events and how would you describe your style?

XG: I have lots of fun with clothing and I kind of dress to my mood. I'd like to say that my style is youthful, fun, and artsy but I mainly get my inspiration from the 1940s and 50s with a little punk, but never too much. I did style myself for all the previous events leading up to Doctor Strange. I really like dressing to themes. Like for the Moon Knight premiere, I had a monochromatic outfit with a dagger in my hair and for Spider-Man: No Way Home, I did like an Audrey Hepburn style look, but I just kind of punked it up with Vivienne Westwood. It's usually me and my mom — we scour the internet on Poshmark, eBay, Etsy, and Depop and recycle clothing, you know? It's fun, I actually really enjoy the hunt and I really enjoy putting outfits together. It's definitely something that brings me joy.

17: Since you missed out on your quinceñera, do you have any big birthday plans for your sweet 16?

XG: What's so interesting is that I'm doing press the day before and the days after my birthday so it's kinda like my one day of rest. I think I have a fitting on my birthday, and I'm gonna probably be doing some homework. I'm gonna go to my martial arts class and afterward, I'm gonna have a dinner party with my friends and probably smash cake in my face because that's a birthday ritual for me.

Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Photography by David Higgs; Styling by Enrique Melendez; Hair and makeup by Brittany Gharring with The Only Agency using ColourPop Cosmetics and Sisley Paris Hair.