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During a revealing discussion, Miranda Otto reflects on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps 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. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and once I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night 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 recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and look at the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are fully engaged then. It may become a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

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

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to 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 detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Star 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, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium 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 film turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from setbacks than is gained from triumph. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.