The actress Shares Insights on Her Career, Fandom, and Unexpected Lessons.

In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer reflects on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature 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 it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was growing up, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. 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 a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It’s such communal thing, 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 provided you are fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

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

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about what Eowyn 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 in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I go into great detail listing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class 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?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a 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 what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Yes – I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule 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 really different approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Guidance Given

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

During my time in secondary school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.