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Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is Queen 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you took away from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

What’s been your most touching encounter with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into great detail listing the ingredients that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; like they even put bits of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for 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 believe had I not pursued acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.