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During a revealing interview, Miranda Otto delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is 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 it be and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian 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 and laughed. It’s such great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you took away from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and look at the people you’re with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great direction if you’re really present then. It may become a gift when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most detailed question is invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” 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 she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels 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 embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another 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 intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

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 you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at that location, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer popping open some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily 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 likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from success. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.