12:59pm UK, Thursday May 22, 2008

Hollywood actress Minnie Driver is having another crack at making it in the music business.

Musical mission: Minnie Driver

It has been four years since she last gave it a go, but the Oscar-nominated star of Good Will Hunting says she is defying her critics to pursue a life-long dream.

"I've got another job which keeps me quite busy," she says of her break from singing.

And it is acting, not a lack of success, that explains the silence, she says.

"When you're in your early 20s and you're getting offered wonderful film roles opposite Brad Pitt and DeNiro, what are you gonna do - say no?" she adds.

Her comeback is marked with her second album, called Seastories. It is acoustic, singer-songwriter material that has been likened to Norah Jones.

"I was much surer about what I wanted on this record and how I wanted it to sound and the fact that we recorded it live created exactly the sound I wanted," Minnie says.

Many movie stars, such as Keanu Reeves, Scarlett Johansson and Juliette Lewis, have tried to steer their film success into a career in music. But many of the results have largely been written off as vanity projects.

But Minnie Driver is not bothered by that.

"I love music," she says. "I love getting to do it, I love surprising people who don't know that I sing or write and I think it's good to shake that up - people's perceptions."

To be fair, the 38-year-old does have previous experience.

"I was working as a singer all through college and that's really what I thought I was going to do. And I love acting, I love them both and I don't think you should have to choose."

It is a strange time to be launching a comeback. The actress and singer is heavily pregnant.

And while she has not said she is having twins, she does refer to the baby in both the plural and the singular.

"They move around a lot when I sing and even more when I play guitar.

"It must be quite sort of loud and incredibly vibey in there, sitting there with this sound - I think it likes music," she says.

:: 'Seastories' is out on Zoe Records