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In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her newest character as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest character portrays the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would you choose and why?

Straight away, the blue groper residing near a specific shoreline – 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’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Favorite to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, 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 once I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It’s such masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, 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 what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. 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 the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the individuals in your scene. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and toward the actors you’re with, you will find your correct position in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a really great direction provided you are fully engaged then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

There isn't a single specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which that character meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

What do you get asked most frequently by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed question is invariably regarding that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know the contents of the pot, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail describing the components that constituted the concoction – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to render it as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Celebrity Encounter

What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?

I was at a fitness session and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the teacher remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Chaos on Location

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 I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and must arrive on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a novel approach 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 you’d be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for 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 ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us as we were graduating and they said, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, because you learn far more from setbacks than is gained from success. Success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, you learn so much more.