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In a candid discussion, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish 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 it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Fellow Actor

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing 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 recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and look at the actors you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present then. It can be a gift when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character meant to them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, 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 bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker 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 what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

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

Yes – I was christened for the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium 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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. Their concept of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains so much more from setbacks than is gained from success. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.