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During a revealing conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent character portrays the monarch 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 – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and once I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently 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 simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward 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 expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned then was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way provided you are really present then. It may become a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much 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 inquiry concerns invariably regarding that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin 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 once and for all?

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

Chaos on Set

What’s the most 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 final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.