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Through a thoughtful discussion, 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 Fish 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched 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 with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, by looking 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 sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great direction provided you are really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

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

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character meant to 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 invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work 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 sort of flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or 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 just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” The result was great, 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 retain numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Guidance Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker 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 failure than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.