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During a revealing interview, Miranda Otto delves on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays Queen 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, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It is a great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What’s the best 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 portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and went really, really well. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and look at the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way provided you are really present in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

What’s been your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of 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 inquiry concerns invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish 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, I think, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the components that made up the stew – because I remember the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

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

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

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 as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than is gained from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.