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During a revealing discussion, Miranda Otto delves on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent 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 it be and why?

Straight away, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot 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 Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such great piece of humor 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 a brilliant comedy, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, by looking and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And next, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re fully engaged then. It may become a gift when things go completely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

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

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most detailed question is invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for 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 what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy 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 make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s 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 was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. 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 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 sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open some champagne on set, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice 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 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 triumph. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn abundant.