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In a candid conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be 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 it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – 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 recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. When you lose your place, if you turn around and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And next, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

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

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn meant to them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character signified for them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Star Encounter

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

I attended a pilates class and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Name

It’s been repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at that location, 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 that was 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 normally have 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 novel way of working for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location or the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, 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 something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in high school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from failure than is gained from triumph. With success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.