Minnie Driver: Running away from grief only makes it worse
Actor Minnie Driver, who shot to fame when she starred alongside Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, opens up about her way of coping up with grief, and getting rid of many noises amid the pandemic
Losing a parent is never an easy situation to overcome. But, Hollywood actor Minnie Driver is not trying to run away from the grief of losing her mother, for she believes that hiding it only makes things worse.
“There are no rules for grieving. I think finding rituals around grief are really important, something that works for you. Like I go swimming. I lost somebody recently, and I swim, and she goes swimming with me,” Driver shares, referencing her mother and designer Gaynor Churchward, who passed away in March this year.
The 51-year-old continues, “I feel her and I feel better when I get out of the ocean. That’s why I think that having a ritual around grief is important. It is a process. Trying to hide it or run away from it doesn’t work. It only makes you feel worse. Finding a way to live with it in your life is very important”.
That’s the aspect which drew Driver towards the role of a widowed doctor in second season of anthology Modern Love, as it captures her journey of trying to cope up after the death of her husband.
“It is a true story. It is a beautiful story of grief and love and how there are things that we have to let go of. She found her way of dealing with grief being in the car that belonged to her husband, where she went to find him, talk to him and just be with him,” admits the actor, who shot to fame when she starred alongside Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting (1997).
Looking back at the lessons she learnt during the pandemic, the Oscar-nominated artiste says, “It has made me appreciate what is truly important”.
“I have realised how much distraction I had in my life and how much noise there was always. Suddenly everything has become very focused. I have realized that there’s really just my family, creativity and a few friends. As long as I can really invest in those things, I feel I’m coming out of the pandemic stronger than I was before,” adds the British-born actor.
Looking forward to her future projects, Driver is glad that there are conversations being initiated around gender equality in the industry. “As long as we’re having these conversations, we’re moving forward. It feels like it is a glacial pace. But some change is better than no change at all,” the actor concludes.