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Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps 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?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago 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 repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall looking at 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, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present in that moment. It can be a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the concoction – as I recall what they did; such as adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

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

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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 final product emerged incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. Their concept of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and at times the plan was unclear the next location or the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in high school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains so much more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.