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During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool 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 always return to, 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 occasionally, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson 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 with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great direction if you’re really present in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

Which questions get asked most frequently 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 whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

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

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

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 I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set punctually. But this was sort of open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member 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 Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

During my time in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from failure than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.