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In a candid conversation, Miranda Otto reflects on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

The most recent 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish 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 folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite 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. When I was growing up, it used to come on television 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 the Ritz and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time 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 didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and look at the actors you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for 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 specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the components that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

It’s been 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 clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos 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 I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day 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 the producer opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than is gained from success. Success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.