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In a candid discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent role is Queen 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, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago 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 attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

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 together. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great direction provided you are fully engaged then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

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

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character signified for 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 detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall what they did; such as adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

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

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name 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 was at a loss for what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

It’s been repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept 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 rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear 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 caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Given

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

During my time in high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.