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During a revealing conversation, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays 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 a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and people go there to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple 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 picture. During my growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of humor 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 an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

What’s the best 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 together. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe the insight gained then was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great direction if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most specific question is invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have 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 definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, since one gains far more from failure than is gained from triumph. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.