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Through a thoughtful conversation, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through 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 back then we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and look at the actors you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

What’s been your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not 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 meant to them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

Which questions get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I go into great detail describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Meeting

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

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

What’s the most 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 film turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting or the methodology. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open a bottle on set, 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 naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field involving 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 high school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.