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During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer reflects on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

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

Without hesitation, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know 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 in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose your place, if you turn around and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way provided you are really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of stories about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

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

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

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.

Chaos 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 final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or 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 a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.