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

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest 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?

Straight away, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and people go there to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it used to come on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware of my error but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And next, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous stories about what Eowyn meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character 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 stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as bad 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 teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really 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 so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

Articles have confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read 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 the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the film turned out brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. 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 sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s 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 Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

During my time in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.