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During a revealing interview, the acclaimed performer delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

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, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is 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 holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was growing up, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and once I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, 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 you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position 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 actually spark off in a really great direction provided you are really present then. It can be a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

Which questions 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 involving that dish, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

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

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Name

Articles have confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Set

What’s the most chaotic thing that’s ever happened on set?

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains far more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.