It was only ever going to be an upward trajectory for Minnie Driver. Even before her Oscar-nominated role in Good Will Hunting, she had proved herself as a Bond girl in GoldenEye and looked at ease next to Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, and Dustin Hoffman in Sleepers. Today, with more than 40 film credits to her name, Driver has navigated the near impossible in Hollywood, achieving both longevity and versatility. Add to that a sense of humor, confirmed via her cleverly named production company, Huge Fan, a nod to the well-greased words of Hollywood phonies. Now she is swapping the camera for a microphone with her podcast, Minnie Questions, a Proust questionnaire of sorts, where she asks her impressive little black book of friends, including Stephen Fry, Cindy Crawford, Dave Grohl, Ronan Farrow, and Alan Cumming, the same seven existential questions. Next up: her heartfelt memoir, Managing Expectations, is set for release this May. Here, Driver shares her key components to the good life. —Bridget Arsenault
Airline: The one without the chatty person who gets up to pee a lot and tells you about their adventures in crypto-currency.
Airport: There is no such place. They are all monstrous silos of everyone’s worst behavior, body odor, and fugue state.
Alibi: “I was stuck at the airport.”
App: PlantNet.
Bag: An ancient Prada carryall.
Bedtime: Deborah Levy book, clear night, open window, full moon.
Bike: An AroundTheBlock 250 electric beach cruiser.
Birthday: A surf trip with girlfriends, boyfriend, and child. A big cake and a lot of presents and a bonfire on the beach, and everyone dances and wakes up with sand in their hair.
Boyfriend/girlfriend: The one I have.
Breakfast, weekday: Coffee.
Breakfast, weekend: Coffee in bed.
Car: A light-blue metallic 1992 Porsche 928 GTS.
Child: Henry Story Driver.
Cocktail: Reposado tequila, on the rocks with lime oil.
Cocktail appetizer: A beer.
Couple: Any two Labradors.
