🔗 Share this article

Through a thoughtful interview, Miranda Otto opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit 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 Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and toward the actors you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great direction if you’re fully engaged in that moment. It may become a gift when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable encounter 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 … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to 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 inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I go into great detail listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall what they did; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source 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 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 pleasant choice.

Chaos 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 that was the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a schedule and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, someone 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 so much more from setbacks than you learn from success. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.