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During a revealing conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature 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?

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 it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of comedy 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, to be watched often.

A Priceless Lesson Learned From a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable 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 portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great direction provided you are fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for 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 what was in the pot, 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? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy 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, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, 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 Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed 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 clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

What was the 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 of my career, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of 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 very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne 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 naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in high school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.