Xóchitl Gomez: the teenage actress set to be the next big star of Marvel

Dr Strange is already one of the top-grossing movies of the year, with an A-list cast featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen.

But the break-out star of the Marvel hit is 16-year-old Xóchitl Gomez, who is set to become a huge star of the franchise.

The teenager, who was born in Californian to Mexican parents, plays America Chavez in the 28th film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

America is the MCU’s first ever ‘queer Latina superhero’ and has the ability to punch star-shaped portals between parallel universes.

It’s a breakout role for Xóchitl (pronounced soh-chee), who gave up her role in Netflix’s Babysitter’s Club for a shot at superhero fame.

Xochitl Gomez and Benedict Cumberbatch attend Sony Pictures’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ premiere 

One of the youngest ever actors to take to a main role in the franchise,  Xóchitl, who turned 16 a few days before the Multiverse of Madness premiere, said that it’s important to her to have a ‘youthful fake-it-til-you-make-it’ vibe to the role.  

‘In this movie, there’s a lot of heavy stuff going on. It’s not easy when you’re a teenager and you have all this pressure and crazy stuff going on around you. You have to remember that you are a kid. You’re allowed to make mistakes, and we’re all learning,’ she told Entertainment Weekly.

The role was originally imagined for an older actress, but casting directors were wowed by Xóchitl, who was just 13 when she auditioned, and rewrote the character with her in mind, ageing her down from 18 to 14.

‘The most exciting part was definitely that she is 14, which is younger than any of the versions in the comics. [Screenwriter] Michael Waldron got to write her a new introduction. It was kind of fun taking the version from the comics and making her younger and less experienced,’ she added. 

America (pictured with Wong) is the MCU’s first ever ‘queer Latina superhero’ and has the ability to punch star-shaped portals between parallel universes.

The teenager, who was born in Californian to Mexican parents, plays America Chavez in the 28th film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is pictured at her Quinceañera, a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday

‘I feel like teens don’t really get that much representation because they have like 20 year olds playing 15 year olds, so what’s better than an actual 14 year old playing 14, right?’ she told Variety.    

The star has been performing since she was five has had small roles in Raven’s Home and Gentefied, with her Instagram showing her at auditions throughout her childhood. 

She had just finished her first major role as Dawn Schafer in the Babysitter’s Club when she taped her first audition for Multiverse of Madness. 

Months later Marvel invited her to audition again and Xóchitl says she threw herself into stunt training, practicing kickboxing and martial arts everyday so that she could ‘blow their minds’ according to Entertain Weekly.

One of the youngest ever actors to take to a main role in the franchise, Xóchitl, who turned 16 a few days before the Multiverse of Madness premiere, said that it’s important to her to have a ‘youthful fake-it-til-you-make-it’ vibe to the role.  She is pictured at the Moon Knight premiere (left) and Shang-chi premiere (right)

Xochitl Gomez attends Marvel Studios ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ Premiere. One of the youngest ever actors to take to a main role in the franchise, Xóchitl, who turned 16 a few days before the Multiverse of Madness premiere, said that it’s important to her to have a ‘youthful fake-it-til-you-make-it’ vibe to the role.

After impressing again, Marvel flew her to London for screen testing with Benedict Cumberbatch.  Soon after returning home to LA, she was told she had the role. 

On set, she found herself surrounded by acting heavyweights, Oscar nominated Cumberbath, as well as Benedict Wong and Elizabeth Olsen.  

She found particular inspiration in Olsen, who gave her ‘great advice’.

 ‘She told me to never hesitate to give Marvel any notes or any opinions I have because they really want to hear my input. At first, I was like, “Oh my gosh, really? I don’t know, okay”. But I did take her advice, and it was really rewarding. Especially at my age, I [focused on] some of the small things that I would say, like, ‘I feel America would do this or that.’ Sam [Rami, director] would be like, ‘Let’s do it!” she added.

The admiration is mutual, with Elizabeth telling Screen Rant: ‘Xóchitl is way more prepared [at 16] than I was at 25 for the Marvel Universe. 

‘She’s just really a light and an energy that was amazing to be around just pure kindness and goodness. I’m excited for her. I’m excited to see what she gets to do with America. 

Hailee Steinfeld, Executive VP of Production at Marvel Studios Victoria Alonso Alonso, and Xochitl Gomez attend the Hawkeye. The star has been performing since she was five has had small roles in Raven’s Home and Gentefied, with her Instagram showing her at auditions throughout her childhood.

Xochitl’s Instagram shows her auditioning throughout her childhood at various set in Los Angeles 

However, it’s not been all plain sailing for the superhero star, who has been studying martial arts since for five years and is now halfway to earning a black belt. 

While she’s proud of playing a ‘powerful, smart, charismatic, queer Latina’ she’s suffered abuse from homophobic Marvel fans.

The film was pulled from Saudi Arabia and Egypt due to a scene where America discusses having two mums, with upset fans taking their anger out on Xóchitl leading to her TikTok account getting banned due to the amount of hate comments she received.

‘I thought it was only right to post a TikTok of (me saying) nothing can break me down, I’m going to stay strong, just keep going because it’s very important for young teenagers to have a positive person to look up to,’ she told News 18.

She’s also had to give up skateboarding, which she loves, to avoid getting injured while preparing for roles.  

‘I do a little bit of skateboarding, but ever since I started getting some roles, I was like, ‘I can’t really injure myself here,” she told Marvel Entertainment at the Spider-Man: No Way Home premiere. ‘So I just graze a little bit.’