Miranda Otto Discusses Perspectives on Her Career, Fandom, and Unexpected Lessons.

In a candid interview, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is Queen 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless 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 – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing 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 suddenly realised things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes 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 absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe 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 hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

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

I attended a fitness session and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. 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 was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, 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 Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed 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 the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

What was the 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 final product turned out brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, 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 wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever received?

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.