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During a revealing conversation, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become 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, that particular fish residing near a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it would air on the ABC every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It’s such great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I suddenly realised things were off. I remember looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, consistently rely on the people in your scene. When you lose your place, by looking and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

What’s been your most memorable interaction 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 growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

Which questions get asked most frequently by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most specific question is always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Chaos 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 least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know the next location the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

During my time in secondary school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, since one gains far more from failure than is gained from success. Success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.