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Through a thoughtful conversation, 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.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest role is the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Without hesitation, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film 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 fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines 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 the scene took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are really present in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

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

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish 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 poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I was at a pilates class and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated 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 settle the matter once and for all?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and the name sounded like a nice name.

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 I experienced the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

During my time in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.