Miranda Otto Reveals Perspectives on Acting, Fandom, and Life's Gifts.

In a candid discussion, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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 it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

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 back then we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, first, always trust the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great direction if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

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

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to 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 always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

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

I was at a fitness session and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

It’s been repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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 most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, 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 some champagne on set, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than is gained from success. With success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.