The actress Reveals Perspectives on Her Career, Fandom, and Unexpected Lessons.

Through a thoughtful conversation, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest role is the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would you choose 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 a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

What film 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 television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I found it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

What’s been your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character signified for them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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

The most specific question is invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves 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 pot, 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, in my view, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “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 you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. Their concept of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Guidance Given

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

When I was in high school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from success. Success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.