In a candid conversation, Miranda Otto reflects on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.
Your latest role is 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?
Without hesitation, the blue groper found at Clovelly beach – because it’s a local landmark, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.
Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?
The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my childhood, it would air on television occasionally, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we attended and just laughed and laughed. It is a masterful work of comedy and all the actors in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched regularly.
What’s the best lesson you learned from someone you’ve worked with?
Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance regained momentum and went really, really well. However, I believe the insight gained in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, if you turn around and look at the actors you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present then. It may become a gift when things go completely the wrong way.
What’s been your most touching encounter with a fan?
There isn't just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to 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 detailed inquiry concerns invariably regarding the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It’s become a running gag, 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 her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that made up the stew – as I recall the efforts made; such as adding pieces of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as they could.
What was your most embarrassing run-in with a famous person?
I attended a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the instructor remarked, “Oh, Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an unusual name and often when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really identified her. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I was at a loss for words. 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 consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.
Articles have confidently claimed 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?
Yes – I was named after a district in Sydney. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and she thought seemed a nice name.
What was the chaotic thing that’s ever happened on set?
When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. In Australia, you normally have a schedule 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 all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s the producer opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” The result was excellent, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.
Do you have a secretly good at?
I naturally possess good with numbers. I retain numbers easier than I learn dialogue a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.
What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever received?
When I was in secondary school, someone addressed us when we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, you never really understand exactly how it happened. With failure, you learn abundant.
A software engineer and tech writer passionate about open-source projects and AI advancements.
