- Xochitl Gomez got to meet the Illuminati cast members on the set of the "Doctor Strange" sequel.
- While speaking about the film's home release, Gomez told Insider that Sir Patrick Stewart gave her great advice.
Sir Patrick Stewart surprised fans with a huge cameo in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." He also imparted some advice to one of Marvel's newest stars, Xochitl Gomez, who plays America Chavez in the sequel.
While speaking with Insider for the film's home release, out now, Gomez shared that she was on set when they filmed the big Illuminati scene in which Stewart, John Krasinski, Hayley Atwell, and more actors appear in brief cameos as variants of popular Marvel heroes.
"I got to meet all of them. I got to meet John, I got to meet Hayley," Gomez told Insider. "I actually had a wonderful conversation with John, but also Sir Patrick Stewart. He gave me great advice."
"He just sat there and talked to me for a nice chunk of time and was like, 'Make sure you pay it forward and be very welcoming to people,' and that's exactly what he was doing to me — just making me feel like I was welcome and it was just, it was surreal," Gomez continued.
The actor added: "He's just such a beautiful soul and has this caringness to him that made me feel like I was getting hugged. I was like, 'Oh, yes!'"
Gomez said the Illuminati scene was a bit different due to the ever-evolving script changes, telling Insider, "The Illuminati scene was actually originally shorter and there were different characters in there."
The Illuminati group we see in the final film consists of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards (Krasinski), Captain Carter (Atwell), Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart), Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), and Black Bolt (Anson Mount reprising his role from ABC's axed "Inhumans" show).
Gomez already sounds like she's keeping Stewart's advice in mind as she interacts with fans.
When asked what it's been like seeing the responses to her superhero character on-screen and what it's meant to her, she said, "I got to play Dawn on 'The Baby-Sitters Club' and with that, there were lots of girls who felt seen and would message me telling me, 'I'm so happy that you're on-screen. I feel like I have someone who's representing me. And then to bring that to a much larger scale in the Marvel movies, it's a lot."
"When people come up to me, it's kind of crazy because I never thought I had that much of an impact until there's girls who are literally shaking to meet me and they're hugging me," Gomez added. "Some of them don't even want a photo. They just want to hug me and I think that's so sweet."
Gomez said her "heart just glows" seeing fans who cosplay as her character.
"It's like, wow, people cherish the character so much," Gomez said of seeing people dress up as America. "I'm lucky that there's people who want to see more of her, too."
Gomez teased that she hopes we'll see more of America Chavez in Phases V and VI of the MCU since the next chapter of Marvel movies is called the Multiverse Saga and, as the actor pointed out, you "can't really ignore the fact that her powers are traveling the multiverse and the next chapter of the MCU is literally the Multiverse Saga."
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is now available on digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD, and is streaming on Disney+.