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In a candid interview, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent character portrays 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was growing up, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and one time I recorded 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 the Ritz and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the actors you’re with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present in that moment. It can be a gift when things go completely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred 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 the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as bad as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

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 said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often 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 was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

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 you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel way of working for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, 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 caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.