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Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on television occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

A Priceless 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 alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re fully engaged then. It can be a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I attended a fitness session and another participant on a mat exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Name

It’s been repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at that location, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was rather flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to 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’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.