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In a candid discussion, Miranda Otto reflects on subjects as varied as her latest role 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; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would you choose and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was childhood, it used to come on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It’s such great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What’s the best lesson you took away 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 together. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are fully engaged then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

What’s been 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 hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to 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 invariably regarding that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I attended a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source 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 you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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 that was the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains far more from setbacks than is gained from success. With success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.