🔗 Share this article

During a revealing discussion, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish 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 residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was growing up, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of humor 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 a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done 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 went really, really well. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. When you lose your place, if you turn around and look at the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And next, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great way if you’re really present then. It can be a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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 am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … 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 specific inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish 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 bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Encounter

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

I was at a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Yes – I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear the next location the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.