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NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- Minnie Driver says she loved playing Britain's Elizabeth I and facing off with Samantha Morton's French Catherine de Medici in the 16th-century-set costume drama, The Serpent Queen. Season 2 premieres Friday on Starz.
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"What a wonderful pair, these two women," Driver, 54, told UPI in a recent phone interview.
"There is 'big cat' energy about both of them, for sure," she said. "There's enormous enjoyment. Each of them believes that they have the upper hand with the other, and it's fun to watch two powerful women who clearly respect each other enormously go head to head."
Driver -- who is known for her roles in Good Will Hunting, Grosse Pointe Blank, Tarzan and An Ideal Husband -- is personally a huge fan of historical epics like this series.
"I do love them, yes," she said. "I particularly love Elizabeth. She is a particular love of mine, really. She was kind of like a historical pin-up for me as a kid. I was absolutely fascinated by her."
To prepare to play the monarch, who sat on the English throne from 1558 until her death in 1603 at age 69, she pored over beautiful paintings of her and read numerous books, chronicling her life.
"But, ultimately, it's an imaginative creation with some great historical facts," she said, crediting series creator Justin Haythe with offering her a complicated, hilarious heroine to play. "She's a fiery, beautiful wit, clever and sharp and quite modern somehow."
Meticulously crafted gowns and period-accurate hair and makeup helped Driver inhabit the character.
"I loved it. It was a complete nightmare to wear it all everyday, but she looks extraordinary, quite unlike anything I've ever seen," the actress said.
"It did a huge amount of the work for me actually. A huge part of my performance is the way that I look. It's so restrictive, and you have to move so much slower than you're used to," she added.
"Your body is in pain all the time, and it really makes you understand where these women were coming from. They were so tortured in the way that they were trussed up. It's astonishing they got anything done and even more remarkable that they were queens."
Driver also was seen recently playing another historical figure -- pirate Anne Bonny -- in the 18th-century-set, high-seas comedy, Our Flag Means Death.
"I absolutely loved playing Anne Bonnie! That was epic! Truly, truly epic! That costume was the most comfortable. I couldn't believe it. I got to wear pants and it wasn't a corset. I want one for myself," Driver said.
Both shows, though steeped in high-stakes events from the past, have a wickedly funny tone that appeals to Driver.
"Justin really leaned into the writing of that," she said of the Serpent Queen scribe. "I think he realized that it's something that I so enjoy. She was very witty and funny from the very beginning. I think he just leaned a little bit harder into it [later]."
Although it is rare to see the Virgin Queen dropping F-bombs, Driver retains many of Elizabeth's signature qualities, such as her confidence, intelligence and gift for strategy.
"She's so identifiable because of the way that she looks," Driver said. "It was fun to make her dangerous and funny."
