Miranda Otto Reveals Insights on Acting, Devoted Fans, and Unexpected Lessons.

Through a thoughtful interview, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is 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 you choose and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. When I was growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in 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 stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware of my error but I suddenly realised things were off. I remember glancing toward 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 then was, first, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, by looking and look at the actors you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way provided you are really present in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

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

It’s not just one particular interaction 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 younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

What do you get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into great detail describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium 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 least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct 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 a lot of the time, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from success. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.