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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 onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent role is Queen 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?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great direction provided you are really present in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

What’s been your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character meant to them and was a form of support to them in those times.

Which questions get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the concoction – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Star Meeting

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. 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 was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

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

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than is gained from success. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.