🔗 Share this article

In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays 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?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. It strikes me 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

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. During my childhood, it used to come on the ABC occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere 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 recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and look at the people you’re with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re fully engaged then. It may become an unexpected boon when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Admirers

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

It’s not just one particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for 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 specific inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know what was in the pot, and how was it made, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up 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. They went to great detail to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Celebrity Meeting

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. 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 stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have confidently claimed 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 definitively?

Indeed, I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil on 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 such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear the next location or the methodology. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in high school, someone 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 so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, you never really understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn abundant.