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Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would you choose and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and people go there to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film 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 used to come on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and 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 simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, first, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. When you lose where you are, by looking and toward the actors you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great way if you’re really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about how that character 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 during those periods.

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

The most specific question is always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know words. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin 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 settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

What was the 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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak 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 setbacks than is gained from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.