Miranda Otto Discusses Insights on Her Career, Fandom, and Life's Gifts.

During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer delves on subjects as varied as her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would you choose and why?

Without hesitation, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I found it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way provided you are really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most specific question is always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up the stew – because I remember the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

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

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed 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 once and for all?

Yes – I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at that location, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, 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 involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was 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 the best piece of advice, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.