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In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her latest role as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays the monarch 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 people go there to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

What film do you repeatedly watch, 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 every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at the Ritz 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’s such great piece of comedy and the entire cast in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Co-Star

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward some dialogue in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I recall glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know your place, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, just to have a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive direction if you’re really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

What’s been your most touching interaction 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 stories about how that character meant to them when they were growing up … things that had happened in their lives and how much that character meant to them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into a running gag, the whole thing 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 poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions listing the components that constituted the stew – as I recall what they did; such as put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

What was your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I was at a fitness session and another participant lying down doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. I still had to complete my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Goodness, I do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

It’s been confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet I’ve read stating otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were opening a shopping centre at Miranda, and the name sounded like a nice name.

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. 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 rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location the next day the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “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 excellent, but goodness, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I’ve just got that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from failure than is gained from triumph. With success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.