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Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto reflects on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent role is the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and once I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And next, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are fully engaged then. It can be a gift when things go completely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

What do you get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed question is invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; such as adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and another participant lying down exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne on set, to start a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever received?

When I was in high school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.