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In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

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

Straight away, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, 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 holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my growing up, it used to come on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From 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 with Pete – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I recall looking at 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, first, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character meant to them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

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

The most specific inquiry concerns always about the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a poor chef? People are, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail describing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Meeting

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

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I was obliged to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I think her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

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 I’ve read stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were opening a mall at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Set

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But they just work 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 sort of open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer popping open a bottle during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Hidden Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not pursued acting, I probably would have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time 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 so much more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.