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

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest 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 residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and people go there to see it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other 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 things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. When you lose where you are, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way provided you are really present in that moment. It can be a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much 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 detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that constituted the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Meeting

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

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Name

Articles have 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?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Chaos on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, 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 was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe had I not pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from success. Success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.