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During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer delves on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is Queen 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – because it’s a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars 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 a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It can be a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

What do you get asked most frequently by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin 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 stating otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed 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 brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. 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 rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.