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Through a thoughtful interview, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent role is 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, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was growing up, it used to come on television every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other 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 suddenly realised things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And secondly, 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 can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

What’s been your most memorable interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for 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 inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

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 opening a mall at that location, and she thought sounded like 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 least organized set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.