CNN —
Many women have played the role of the first Queen Elizabeth, who ruled for nearly 45 years in the 16th and 17th centuries, but this time it will be Minnie Driver who wears the crown.
In a recent interview with CNN, Driver spoke about her approach to playing one of England’s most important monarchs in Season 2 of the Starz series “The Serpent Queen.”
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with Justin Haythe. [executive producer] “I thought about the different sides to her that we might see, including her playfulness, her using her sexuality as power,” Driver said. “Rather than looking back at my previous work, I focused on what was different in my performance, because the extraordinary power that this woman has is imprinted in the work.”
Driver is well aware that she takes on this role at a time when there is a lot of discussion about women in leadership.
She stars alongside Samantha Morton as Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, who was known as the “Snake Queen” for her cunning and power that many believe she ruthlessly acquired and maintained. History has never confirmed that these female rulers ever met, but they did exchange letters, and the series’ second season will explore what their relationship might have been like.
Driver said he has no problem taking creative liberties with the show.
“They had a connection, they were friends, and I think it’s a great entertainment concept. I mean, I’m not saying this is a completely factual version of what happened as we know it,” she said.
Instead, the actress, known for her roles in everything from “Good Will Hunting” to “Will & Grace,” leaned into a “fictional story” about what happened between the two royals who led the monarchy at a time when women had few rights.
Driver wanted to recreate every detail accurately, including Queen Elizabeth’s exquisite style.
“It took about three and a half hours every day in makeup, costume and hair. It was exhausting. It was a transformation,” she said. “That transformation was so important to that character and to the way she looked, not just because we know historically that’s what she looked like in the portraits that we’ve seen, but because that’s what she looked like. It was her mask. It was how she met the world.”
Embracing the world in the spotlight is a dynamic experience that drivers have been experiencing for years.
When the article’s author compared her ability to seemingly maintain a private life for periods between projects to singer Adele, she laughed and took it as a compliment.
She said social media has made that possible.
“I love social media because I get to reflect my real life on social media, but it’s just the way I am,” Driver said, “so people see the surf trips I took with my daughters, or the bonfires I had on the beach for my kids’ birthdays.”
The direct contact with the audience also meant less attention from the paparazzi, she said.
“Everything seems to have calmed down, and I think that’s because through social media we as humans are able to control our own narrative,” she mused. “We can actually be authentic about who we are and how we live our lives, and I think that’s what people are looking for right now. I think people value authenticity.”
This environment also allows Driver to immerse herself in her passions, such as in her podcast “Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver,” in which she “talks to experts and pioneers in different fields and asks them the same seven mini-questions.”
So what will the driver ask Queen Elizabeth?
“I really wanted to ask her what she thought the secret to her long reign was. [Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth’s secretary, who firmed a spy network to protect her] “The queen was the one who basically created the first secret service and killed everyone who was trying to kill her?” Driver asked. “Was it because nobody knew and she had a lover who supported her through everything? I’d like to know how she managed to remain queen for so long.”
The second season of “The Serpent Queen” will stream on Starz, with new episodes premiering every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on the company’s linear channel.