The actress Discusses Insights on Her Career, Devoted Fans, and Life's Lessons.

During a revealing discussion, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Revisit

Which movie 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 videotaped it. I found it was hilarious. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific question is invariably regarding that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into great detail describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

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 clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium 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 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 really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.