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During a revealing interview, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps 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 it be and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my growing up, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. 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 simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

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 at the time we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present then. It may become a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. 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 rather flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.