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Through a thoughtful conversation, 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.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature 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 it be and why?

Straight away, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were playing 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 is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned then was, first, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, 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? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the components that made up the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

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 you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule 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 approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.