The actress Reveals Insights on Her Career, Devoted Fans, and Unexpected Gifts.

Through a thoughtful discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was growing up, it used to come on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. 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, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight 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 with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present then. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to 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 invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and how was it made, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I go into great detail listing the components that made up the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; like they even put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made 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 wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Chaos 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 most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together 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 wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, someone addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.