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

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent character portrays Queen 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 found at Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love 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 playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It can be a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

What do you get asked most frequently by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed question is invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant lying down exercising, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin 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 clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre 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?

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 turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

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 a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in high school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains so much more from failure than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.