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In a candid discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it used to come 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. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

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 a couple. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware 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 regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you will find your correct position somehow. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are really present in that moment. It can be a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character 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 detailed question is invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into great detail describing the ingredients that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

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, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have 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 settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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 most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach 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 I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than is gained from triumph. With success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.