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Through a thoughtful discussion, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and people go there to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it used to come on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and 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 attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. 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 as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable lesson you took away 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 on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. When you lose your place, if you turn around and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re fully engaged in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

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

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character meant to them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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

The most specific question is invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and how was it made, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Name

Articles have 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 definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at that location, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set 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 sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, 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 naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

During my time in high school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.