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In a candid interview, Miranda Otto reflects on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is 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, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually 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 childhood, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I suddenly realised things were off. I remember 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 in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

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

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character 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 a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark 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 wasn’t really identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck 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 stating otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

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

Chaos on Location

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

While 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 they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and at times 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 a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from failure than is gained from success. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.