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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 profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent 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 it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

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 adore this film. When I was childhood, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast 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, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, always trust the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and toward the actors you’re with, you will find your correct position somehow. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

It’s not 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 growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most specific question is always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark 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 the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Chaos on Set

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 of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

When I was in high school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.