🔗 Share this article

During a revealing interview, the acclaimed performer reflects on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

Your latest role is 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, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and individuals visit specifically to spot it. It strikes me as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

What film do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at the Ritz and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of an acquaintance, and so we attended and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but back then we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. When you lose where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way if you’re really present then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Admirers

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

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide great detail listing the ingredients that made up the concoction – because I remember what they did; such as adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Celebrity Encounter

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

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

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 you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for a district in Sydney. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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 brilliantly. But they just work in a distinct manner. 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 open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member opening a bottle during filming, to start a party.” The result was great, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than is gained from success. With success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.