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During a revealing conversation, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and individuals visit to see 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 Film Favorite 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. When I was growing up, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It’s such masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the people in your scene. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position somehow. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

What do you get asked about the most 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 whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I go into great detail listing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, 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 intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Name

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?

Yes – I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

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 when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.