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Through a thoughtful interview, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest character portrays Queen 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, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it used to come on television every now and again, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of humor and all the actors in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

The Best Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

What’s the best lesson you took away from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not together. We were playing opposite each other 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 abruptly sensed things were off. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, first, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And next, just to have a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re fully engaged then. It can be a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

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

There isn't just one particular interaction but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories 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 a form of support to them in those times.

Which questions get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Did that stew taste really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the entire episode involving that dish, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, I think, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that made up the stew – because I remember what they did; like they even adding pieces 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.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

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

I was at 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 inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And when she got up, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I do know who you are!” I think she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to utter a syllable.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated 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. My mother heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Pandemonium 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 least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. In Australia, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the final moment, and at times the plan was unclear where they were shooting or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening some champagne on set, to start a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers easier than I memorise words often, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think had I not pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like mathematics or finance.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in high school, a speaker came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. With failure, the lessons are so much more.