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During a revealing conversation, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent role is the monarch 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, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz 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 fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

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 were playing opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

What’s been 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 growing up … 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 about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into a running gag, the entire episode 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? People are, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail listing the components that constituted the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; such as adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name 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 experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

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 stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn abundant.