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Through a thoughtful conversation, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

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; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would you choose and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. When you lose your place, by looking and look at the actors you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction provided you are fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable 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 what Eowyn impacted 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 during those periods.

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

The most specific question is always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, 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 she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into great detail describing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

What’s been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was simply too awestruck 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 clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was 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 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 rather flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location or the methodology. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not pursued acting, I likely might have worked in involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, someone 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 understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.