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In a candid conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes 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, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. When I was childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and look at the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And next, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It may become a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Admirers

What’s been your most touching 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 what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and how was it made, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I was at a pilates class and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “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 seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know words. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source 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 I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – 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 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? Ah, it was a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.