The actress Reveals Insights on Acting, Fandom, and Life's Gifts.

Through a thoughtful interview, the acclaimed performer delves on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

What film do you always return to, 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 occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s 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 also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go completely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most detailed question is invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

It’s been repeatedly stated 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 settle the matter once and for all?

Yes – I was christened for a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive 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 approach for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not pursued acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.