It’s been some time since the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the long-awatied sequel to the 2016 origin film Doctor Strange. After allowing some time to sit on it, the overall response from critics and audiences stays mixed as ever. While one party praises the unique work of Sam Raimi, the other has proclaimed it a total mess. Perhaps the major production changes that happened throughout the film's development, shooting, and editing stages had something to do with it.

That being said, Doctor Strange 2 offered foremost the return of beloved MCU cast members and characters (like Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen), as well as the introduction of new and exciting actors (like Xochitl Gomez). In fact, let's take a look at six interesting facts that you might not have known about the cast of Doctor Strange 2.

6 Rachel McAdams is a Green Environmentalist

You may have not known that Rachel McAdams lives a pro eco-friendly lifestyle. Along with her two best friends, she used to run a website called Green Is Sexy! from 2007 to 2011, where they would provide eco-friendly tips for everyday life. She is all about raising awareness about our declining environment and pushes people to be more green. McAdams is a renowned vegetarian, her house is powered by a renewable energy, she doesn't own a car, and, in her private time, she bikes instead of using a car whenever she can. The actress uses environment-friendly products only, as well as wears clothes that are manufactured the same way. As for the future, she's planning to raise her family at a farm and grow her own food.

5 Xochitl Gomez Started Acting at the Age of 5

Mexican-American actress Xochitl Gomez knew what she wanted to do from a very early age. At the early age of five, Gomez was already acting in local musicals before she officially won roles in television series like Gentefied, Raven's Home, and You're the Worst. Perhaps her mother saw her potential, given how it was she who enrolled her in a musical theater class. In addition to appearing in many commercials and minor television roles, Gomez managed to appear in 22 full-length musicals. That's quite the resume at such a tender age, huh? We can't wait what her character of America Chavez will do for the Latinx LGBTQ+ representation in the MCU.

Related: 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Cast of Sing 2

4 Benedict Wong Almost Didn’t Make It Into the MCU

Hollywood is still in dire need of better Asian representation, and the MCU is slowly starting to move in the right direction. However, when Doctor Strange first came out in 2016, Benedict Wong was one of the few Asian characters in the franchise. The actor felt stagnant with his career when he happened to discover the role of Wong through his friend Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was also involved in the project as Mordo. It was probably fate that the actor shared a name with the character he was trying out for. That said, as director Scott Derrickson pointed out to Los Angeles Daily News, he almost didn't include Wong's character in the movie due to the Asian stereotypes he was built on in Marvel Comics. He was supposed to be a sidekick with the knowledge of martial arts to a white man who saves the world. Yet, as time has progressed, Wong has ended up having a more important role as the Sorcerer Supreme and in a way represents the movies' moral core.

3 Chiwetel Ejiofor Was in a Car Accident With His Father

Losing a parent has a profound effect on how you view life as a whole. Chiwetel Ejiofor was only 11 years old when he and his father attended a family wedding in Nigeria. While the two were in the country, a car accident occurred, with Ejiofor and his father present in the car. While the actor came out of the accident alive with broken bones and in a coma, his father didn't have the luck of surviving. The actor still has a scar on his forehead from the accident. In an interview with British GQ, Ejiofor opened up about the effects that it's had on him as a person: "When you lose a parent young, it has a profound effect on the way you view life. At an early age you realize the value of some things and the preciousness of life itself, which is something most people acquire later on."

Related: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi

2 Elizabeth Olsen and Her Husband Wrote a Children’s Book

We also have a pretty recent fun fact about Elizabeth Olsen and her branching out into different artistic fields. Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective is a children's book about self-care that she wrote together with her husband Robbie Arnett. Both of them care about mental health and are advocates of speaking up and asking for help, which is essentially what the book is meant to teach children. "Inspired by the picture books we adored as kids, we hope that Hattie will become a friend and a welcomed reminder to be kind to yourself and to each other," said Olsen to PEOPLE.

1 Benedict Cumberbatch Was Kidnapped in South Africa

Last but not least, the biggest fact you probably didn't know about Benedict Cumberbatch: the actor revealed that he was once abducted in South Africa when filming To the Ends of the Earth. When driving back to the set with his friends, their tire was blown off, and they got approached by six armed figures. They were asking for money and drugs, and when none of them gave anything, they got tied up and thrown into the car. The actor thought of the worst possible outcomes. When the abductors let them go without explanations, he cried tears of gratitude. He later admitted that such an experience "really, really enriches your values in life."