The actress Shares Perspectives on Her Career, Fandom, and Unexpected Lessons.

In a candid conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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 residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe what I learned then was, firstly, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And next, just to have a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great direction if you’re really present in that moment. It can be a gift when things go completely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing 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 think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail listing the components that made up the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; such as adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I attended a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

It’s been repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

During my time in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, you never really understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.