Minnie Driver dishes on ‘one of the most fun things I’ve ever done’

Minnie Driver would like to have dinner with her 20-year-old self. What would she tell her?

“I would say, ‘Life is going to be great and beautiful and hard and amazing,’ ” the 54-year-old actor says. “I would tell her to celebrate more and worry less. And I would remind her of what’s really important: You will have a lot of love in your life.”

“Finally, I would tell her, ‘It will be fine. Honey, it’s all cool,” Driver chuckles.

And it is cool, even on little sleep on a hot summer morning in New York City, where Driver holds court talking about her work on the much-awaited new season of “The Serpent Queen,” premiering July 12 on Starz.

Season 2 of the historical drama finds Catherine de Medici (Samantha Morton) as the Queen Regent of France now that her son, Charles IX (Bill Milner) has come of age. Problems arise as a mysterious religious prophet named Edith (Isobel Jesper Jones) has gained a loyal following and vows to challenge the establishment, sparking tension across the country.

The Bourbons turn to a familiar foreign sovereign, England’s Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by Driver.

Why don the crown? Driver, born in London and raised in Barbados, likes to take chances. Her resume includes classics such as “Circle of Friends,” “Good Will Hunting” and “GoldenEye,” plus TV’s “The Riches.”

She lives in London with her filmmaker boyfriend, Addison O’Dea, and her 15-year-old son, Henry.

Her good life advice:

Go big

It was a bold move, Driver acknowledges, to take on a role as big as a cussing, headstrong Queen Elizabeth. “Yet, it was absolutely one of the most fun things I’ve ever done despite the discomfort of wearing the costumes,” she says. “This was a woman who was in control at all times. What makes it so delicious is that she didn’t need to defend or try to negate her position. She was herself. Unapologetically.”

Trust your gut

What sparks Driver creatively these days? “It’s just a funny feeling,” she shares. “I think, ‘Oh, my God, I need to do this. I think, ‘Minnie could really bring something to this role.’ It’s this way with other life choices: What is your gut telling you? You need to listen.”

Do the unexpected

After the success of 1995’s “Circle of Friends,” Driver left Hollywood to sell used jeans in Uruguay. “I was broke. I couldn’t get a job after ‘Circle.’ Meanwhile, my sister was in Uruguay selling used jeans with her boyfriend. She said, ‘Minnie, come down here. You can live for a dollar a day.’ ” Driver decided to make a major life change, not knowing what might happen. Three months later I got a call at the post office. It was my agent who said, ‘Come back. They want to see you for the new Bond film.’ … Unexpected big turns in life are sometimes just what you need.”

Happy equals healthy

“What keeps me healthy is doing things that make me happy. I surf, swim and run. I hang out with my son and boyfriend and dog. We eat delicious food, but just not too much of it. Otherwise, I drink loads of water each day and get regular facials,” says Driver, adding with a laugh: “I honestly refuse to age.”

Embrace nature

When it all gets to be too much, Driver heads to the water. “I’ll take any body of water,” she says. “I just jump in and the stress is gone.” If she can’t take a plunge, somewhere green will do. “I’ll go to a park and take off my shoes and socks. There is something about just having your naked feet in the grass. It’s very grounding,” she adds. “Nature does it for me.”

Cherish the moment

Driver’s 2023 memoir is called “Managing Expectations.” She had to do just that when she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for 1998’s “Good Will Hunting.”

“At the ceremony, my dad whispered to me, ‘You’re not going to win. It’s not your year. Gloria Stuart will win for “Titanic.” Someday, it will be your year,’ ” she recalls. “He said it with so much love and then he added, ‘So, just be here, holding hands with your dad at the Academy Awards.’ ”

Driver adds, “Your life is full of so many moments that look like one thing and are really something else. That was the most beautiful night holding hands with my dad.”

(Incidentally, Kim Basinger won best supporting actress that year for “L.A. Confidential.”)

Question everything

Driver has a podcast called “Minnie Questions With Minnie Driver.” Each episode, she asks the same seven questions of famous friends, and the answers are revealing. “We used to play this game when I was a kid with this old questionnaire,” she says. “It asked you some deep and some shallow questions to reveal who you are.” Guests have included everyone from Tony Blair to Viola Davis to Cindy Crawford.

Look back fondly

Where would her beloved character Benny from “Circle of Friends” be today? Driver says her version is as follows: “I think she would be a writer, married with four kids and living in a really lovely stone farmhouse in Ireland by the sea. I think she has five dogs, all of them strays. And I think she writes really wonderful books that are beloved and bestsellers.”

Say thank you

“My mom always told me if you send a handwritten thank-you note after a party then you will be invited back,” Driver shares. “I’ve written a thank-you note to every party I’ve ever been invited to in this town, and I’ve always been invited back.”