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In a candid interview, Miranda Otto reflects on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Straight away, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, 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 so funny. It’s 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 went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, always trust the individuals in your scene. When you lose your place, if you turn around and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way if you’re fully engaged in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

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

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

What do you get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, 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, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “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 hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

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 stating otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out 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 retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

During my time in secondary school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.