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During a revealing conversation, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

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

Straight away, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and people go there to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and look at the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great way if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … 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 most frequently by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed question is invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

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

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

It’s been repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were opening a shopping centre at that location, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium 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 final product emerged incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a schedule and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Given

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

During my time in secondary school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.