Minnie Driver reveals she had to use ice packs to stay cool while filming Queen Elizabeth I role

Actress Minnie Driver has opened up about the challenges she faced while filming her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the Starz period drama "The Serpent Queen". Driver, who plays the infamous "Virgin Queen" opposite Samantha Morton's Catherine de Medici, revealed that she had to take extreme measures to stay cool during filming in France's Loire Valley during a heatwave.

"I absolutely did" tape ice packs to my thighs under my gowns, Driver told the Boston Herald. "It was 100 degrees-plus. Our costumes were lined with neoprene, and they weighed 60 pounds. So it was incredibly hot. Taping ice packs was the only way of not fainting - and you had to keep drinking enough water."

Driver noted that the intense heat and heavy costumes required her to have "extraordinary focus" to get through the shoot. She added that the experience was "very busy" and "uncomfortable for everybody", but that the cast and crew simply had to "get on with it" when there wasn't a choice.

Despite the challenges, Driver is thrilled to be playing the iconic role of Queen Elizabeth I. She noted that the two queens "never actually met in real life", but that they had a significant correspondence through letters. The upcoming season of "The Serpent Queen" premieres on July 12 on Starz.