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During a revealing interview, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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?

Straight away, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my childhood, it would air on television occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, first, always trust the people you’re working with. When you lose where you are, by looking and look at the people you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way if you’re fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character signified for them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook 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 great detail listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look 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 doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when someone’s a 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 didn’t know words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have 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 once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic 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 unique. Typically, you receive a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, a speaker addressed us as 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 triumph. Success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.