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Through a thoughtful discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Straight away, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – because it’s a local landmark, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my growing up, it used to come on television every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the actors you’re with, you will find your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

Which questions get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most specific question is invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

It’s been confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

What’s the most chaotic thing that’s ever happened on set?

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

During my time in secondary school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.