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During a revealing discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature 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 – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the actors you’re with, you will find your correct position in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

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

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character 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 that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening some champagne on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from failure than is gained from success. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn abundant.