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In a candid discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest role is 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, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such great piece of comedy and all the actors 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, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

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 opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And next, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are fully engaged then. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into a running gag, the entire episode involving that dish, 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 believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up the stew – because I remember the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

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

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. Their concept of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer popping open some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a distinct 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 a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really understand precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.