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In a candid discussion, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature 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 you choose and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Return To

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, first, consistently rely on the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great way if you’re really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance 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 was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant on a mat exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another 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 didn’t know words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I am aware of your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin 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 clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Location

What’s the most 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 brilliantly. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. In Australia, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue 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 accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.