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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 profound lessons learned through theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on television every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It’s such great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose your place, by looking and look at the actors you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great direction provided you are really present in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that made up the concoction – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

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

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

What’s the best 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” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.