🔗 Share this article

Through a thoughtful conversation, Miranda Otto opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent role is the monarch 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 residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

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 film. During my childhood, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great direction provided you are fully engaged then. It can be a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and all fans wish 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 believe she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

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

I attended a pilates class and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is 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 the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

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 I’ve read stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

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

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. Their concept of time there is unique. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

During my time in high school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “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. With success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn abundant.