Xochitl Gomez: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Xochitl Gomez arrived at Marvel at sixteen, carrying a resume built from New Mexico community theater, Disney Channel guest spots and a Netflix tween ensemble — then won a mirrorball trophy. This mix maps the comics lineage behind America Chavez, the Raimi horror sensibility that framed her debut, and the dance career that ran alongside the acting one.

The Kynda mix for Xochitl Gomez

• Key Influence · The Evil Dead by Sam Raimi (1981). Gomez's breakout came under Sam Raimi, who returned to studio filmmaking with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after a decade away. The film's possessed-Wanda sequences, Dutch angles, hurtling POV shots and cackling undead are direct imports from the Evil Dead films Raimi made in Michigan with Bruce Campbell. Working inside that grammar meant Gomez spent her first blockbuster essentially acting in a horror picture aimed at teenagers.','
• Influencia Obscura · Vengeance #1 by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta (2011). America Chavez debuted not in a flagship title but in this short-lived Casey/Dragotta miniseries, as leader of the Teen Brigade — an obscurity even among Marvel readers. Her star-portal power, Utopian Parallel backstory and fists-first attitude were established there before Kieron Gillen moved her to Young Avengers. Gomez's MCU role is the mass-audience arrival of a character seeded in a comic few people bought.
• Local Roots · Breaking Bad by Vince Gilligan (2008). Gomez grew up partly in Los Lunas, New Mexico, doing local musical theater and student films before moving toward Los Angeles work. New Mexico's film-incentive boom — anchored by Gilligan's Albuquerque-shot series and the Netflix studio purchase that followed — is why a kid in a small Rio Grande valley town could audition for professional productions at all, rather than needing to already be in California.
• Beyond the Medium · Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1877). Gomez's 2023 Dancing with the Stars win was not a sideline: she trained in musical theater from age five, and the competition demanded Viennese waltz, paso doble and contemporary routines across thirteen weeks. The ballroom and classical repertoire that structures the show — Tchaikovsky's waltz idiom among its foundations — gave her a second discipline, physical storytelling under live performance pressure, feeding directly back into screen work.
• Peer · Ms. Marvel by Bisha K. Ali (2022). Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan arrived in the same 2022 Marvel slate as Gomez's America Chavez: both teenage newcomers cast as the franchise's next generation, both carrying representational freight, both comics-accurate. The series shared the MCU's post-Endgame pivot toward younger leads and family-centered stories, and the two actresses have been grouped repeatedly as the Young Avengers cohort studios were assembling.
• From the Canon · Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness by Xochitl Gomez (2022). Her defining role: America Chavez, a teenager who punches star-shaped holes between universes but cannot control the power, dragged across realities by Elizabeth Olsen's grieving Scarlet Witch. Gomez had to play terror and defiance against green screen in a Raimi horror register, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch. The film grossed near a billion dollars and made her the youngest performer fronting a new MCU character arc.
• Key Collaborator · Martha Marcy May Marlene by Sean Durkin (2011). Gomez's Multiverse of Madness scenes are largely a two-hander with Elizabeth Olsen, whose Wanda hunts America across universes. Olsen's breakout in Durkin's Sundance drama shows the technique she brought: interiority held in silence, trauma played without explanation. Having a scene partner of that calibre in her first blockbuster shaped how Gomez's terror reads — reactive, specific, scaled to a performer working in close registers.
• Legacy · Agatha All Along by Jac Schaeffer (2024). Schaeffer's series continues the witchcraft thread of Multiverse of Madness, with Joe Locke's teen witch inheriting the structural role Gomez's America Chavez pioneered: the young outsider bound to an older, dangerous magic user. The MCU's turn toward teenage leads carrying adult characters' guilt is the lane Chavez opened, and this show is the most direct extension of that dynamic.

What influenced Xochitl Gomez

• Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence’s performance inspired Gomez to pursue professional acting. “Jennifer Lawrence 's performance as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series inspired her to pursue a professional acting career.” (Wikipedia)
• Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Swan Lake (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) — culture for Xochitl Gomez (wikidata.org)
• Coco. Coco (Lee Unkrich) — culture for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• The Evil Dead by Sam Raimi (1981). The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi) — titan for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin (1986). The Baby-Sitters Club (Ann M. Martin) — titan for Xochitl Gomez (openlibrary.org)
• West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein (1957). West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) — culture for Xochitl Gomez (wikidata.org)
• Vengeance #1 by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta (2011). Vengeance #1 (Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta) — ghost for Xochitl Gomez
• America #1 by Gabby Rivera (2017). America #1 (Gabby Rivera) — ghost for Xochitl Gomez

Peers and kindred spirits

• Robert Irwin. Gomez and Irwin competed together in a jive relay. “We had a rehearsal without Witney because they were filming something special, and so it was just Robert and I for three hours, and 'Oh my God!'” (Us Weekly)
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Gomez and Winstead were cast in the same film. “Birds of Prey star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness breakout Xochitl Gomez have signed on to star in Ursa Major , a new sci-fi thriller from sibling directors Jonathan and Josh Baker ( Kin ).” (The Hollywood Reporter)
• Benedict Cumberbatch. Gomez and Cumberbatch performed a screen test together. “Oh, she’s great. She was just a kid when we started, she was 14, and now she’s 16. It’s an amazingly formative few years that she’s been doing this for. And she’s fantastic.” (Complex)
• Valentin Chmerkovskiy. Gomez was paired with Chmerkovskiy for the competition. “Then I hear Val and he was like, “Smile! Keep going, smile,” and we just kept going.” (The Nerds of Color)
• Johnny Orlando. Gomez starred in the video for Orlando’s single “Emilia”. “Emilia music video is out now!!! 🌸✨ @johnnyorlando thank uuuu for inviting me to a part of your video!! 🫂🌟” (Instagram)
• Benedict Wong. In a joint interview about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Gomez confirms that Wong supported her. “Yes! You were my support.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
• The Cat in the Hat (2026 film). Gomez is named among the film's voice cast. “Bill Hader stars as the voice of the titular character, alongside Matt Berry , Quinta Brunson , Xochitl Gomez , Giancarlo Esposito , and America Ferrera .” (Wikipedia)
• Dancing with the Stars by Val Chmerkovskiy (2011). Dancing with the Stars (Val Chmerkovskiy) — collaborator for Xochitl Gomez “It was really fun. It was so funny because for the dance marathon, we had already kind of — not rehearsed it, but you have to kind of go through it so that you know what to do” (The Nerds of Color)
• Elizabeth Olsen. Gomez recalls preparing to act opposite Olsen in a Doctor Strange scene. “Elizabeth Olsen is going to be screaming at me and berating me in this scene, and taking my powers away from me. That’s fine, because I’m a professional today.” (ELLE)
• Witney Carson. Gomez describes dancing with Carson and learning from her for a Dancing with the Stars appearance. “I was most excited to be dancing with Witney and having her teach me” (Us Weekly)
• Ms. Marvel by Bisha K. Ali (2022). Ms. Marvel (Bisha K. Ali) — peer for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• Stand and Deliver by Ramón Menéndez (1988). Stand and Deliver (Ramón Menéndez) — geography for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• Blue Beetle by Ángel Manuel Soto (2023). Blue Beetle (Ángel Manuel Soto) — peer for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• Breaking Bad by Vince Gilligan (2008). Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan) — geography for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• Martha Marcy May Marlene by Sean Durkin (2011). Martha Marcy May Marlene (Sean Durkin) — collaborator for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• Raven's Home by Michael Poryes (2017). Raven's Home (Michael Poryes) — geography for Xochitl Gomez
• Danny Elfman: Music from the Films of Tim Burton by Danny Elfman (2015). Danny Elfman: Music from the Films of Tim Burton (Danny Elfman) — collaborator for Xochitl Gomez
• Wednesday by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (2022). Wednesday (Alfred Gough and Miles Millar) — peer for Xochitl Gomez

Who Xochitl Gomez influenced

• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by Joaquim Dos Santos (2023). Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Joaquim Dos Santos) — legacy for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)
• Agatha All Along by Jac Schaeffer (2024). Agatha All Along (Jac Schaeffer) — legacy for Xochitl Gomez (themoviedb.org)