Miranda Otto Discusses Perspectives on Her Career, Fandom, and Life's Gifts.

Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from 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, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary 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 an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It is a masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn 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 involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that constituted the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; such as put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced 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 say anything.

The Source of a Name

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 clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on 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 unique. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – 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 I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

During my time in high school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than is gained from success. Success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.