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Through a thoughtful interview, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish found at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was childhood, it would air on the ABC occasionally, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised things were off. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And next, just to have a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are really present in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode involving that dish, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and how was it made, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, I think, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I go into great detail listing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s 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 Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I was obliged to complete my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Goodness, 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 Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed 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?

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

Pandemonium on Set

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive 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 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 during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field 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?

During my time in high school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.