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During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer reflects on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature 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 found at Clovelly beach – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was childhood, it would air on television occasionally, and one time I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead 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 completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the people you’re working with. When you lose your place, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you will find where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are really present then. It can be an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn meant to them and was a form of support 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 that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish 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? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the components that made up the concoction – as I recall the efforts made; like they even put bits of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as unappetizing as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know words. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have 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 settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Pandemonium on Location

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product emerged brilliantly. But the local crew operated in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the very last minute, and at times the plan was unclear the next location the next day 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? Ah, it was a crew member opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Hidden Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Finest Piece of Advice Given

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

During my time in high school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from failure than is gained from success. Success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.