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In a candid discussion, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent character portrays Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary 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 attended and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From 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 during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are fully engaged then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed 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 definitively?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium 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 most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day 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 a crew member popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.