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During a revealing interview, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish 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, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless Insight Learned From a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe what I learned then was, first, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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 impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which 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 inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that made up the concoction – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as bad as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense 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 clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at that location, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, 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 approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location the next day 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 just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, 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 simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

During my time in high school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.