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In a candid conversation, Miranda Otto delves 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

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 you choose and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my 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 an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

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 alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and look at the people you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

What’s been your most memorable interaction with a fan?

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts 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 a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another 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 words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source 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 I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at that location, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

When I was in secondary school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.