The actress Reveals Insights on Acting, Devoted Fans, and Unexpected Lessons.

Through a thoughtful interview, Miranda Otto reflects on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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 Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Fellow Actor

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned then was, first, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, 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 wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin 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 stating otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and the name seemed a nice name.

Chaos 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 least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – 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 very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or the methodology. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.