Miranda Otto Discusses Insights on Acting, Devoted Fans, and Life's Gifts.

In a candid interview, Miranda Otto delves on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be 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?

Straight away, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot 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 Cinematic Favorite to Return To

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my growing up, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and I discovered 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 the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Lesson 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 – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

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

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous stories about what Eowyn impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s 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 what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

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 definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at that location, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film 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. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open some champagne on set, to start a party.” The result was great, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

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 believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from setbacks than is gained from success. Success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.