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During a revealing conversation, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through 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 it be and why?

Without hesitation, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, 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 talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently 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’s such masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through 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 together. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned then was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great direction provided you are really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

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

It’s not a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much 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 question is always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – 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 extreme measures to render it as bad as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

Articles have 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?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day 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? Ah, it was a crew member popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

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