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Through a thoughtful conversation, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature 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, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my growing up, it would air 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 a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and went really, really well. 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 your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And next, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Admirers

What’s been your most touching interaction 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 meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character 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 specific question is invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that made up the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

Articles have 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 settle the matter definitively?

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

Chaos on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer popping open a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” The result was great, but goodness, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers easier than I memorise words often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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 they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.