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Through a thoughtful discussion, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays 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 a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, 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 Film 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 film. During my growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. 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 Insight 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 at the time we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I stumbled – 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 proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and toward the actors you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way 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 memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn meant to them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the components that constituted the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

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

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s 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 still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

It’s been repeatedly stated 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?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Chaos on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. 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 the producer opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was great, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a 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 think 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 Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.