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In a candid interview, Miranda Otto delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would you choose and why?

Straight away, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson 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 with Pete – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, first, always trust the people in your scene. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and look at the people you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe 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 what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to 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 detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced 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 Origin of a Moniker

It’s been 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?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening some champagne on set, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe had I not pursued 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?

When I was in high school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.