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During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays the monarch 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, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my growing up, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. 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 successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through 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 back then we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

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

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed question is invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode involving that dish, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up the concoction – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Name

It’s been confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and you have to be on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear 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 the methodology. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open some champagne on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from failure than you learn from triumph. With success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.