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Through a thoughtful discussion, the acclaimed performer delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish 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?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. When I was growing up, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It stars Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work 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 a brilliant comedy, to be watched often.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, first, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great direction provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It can be a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

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

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character meant to 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 her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of 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 bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even adding pieces of colored thread to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

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

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I still had to stay and do 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 Moniker

It’s been 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 clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother heard on the radio that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open some champagne on set, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Given

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than you learn from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.