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Through a thoughtful conversation, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest role is Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; supposing you had the opportunity to be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper residing near Clovelly beach – since it is a local landmark, and people go there to see it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I found it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian 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 attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

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 alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re fully engaged in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable interaction with a fan?

There isn't a single 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 how much that character signified for them and was a form of support to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions describing the components that made up the concoction – because I remember the efforts made; such as put bits 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 they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class 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, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated 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 once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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 most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not pursued acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Guidance Given

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

When I was in high 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, since one gains far more from failure than you learn from triumph. Success, one rarely comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.