🔗 Share this article

During a revealing interview, the acclaimed performer opens up on subjects as varied as her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be a Fish for a Day

Your latest 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 you choose and why?

Without hesitation, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and people go there to see it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this picture. During my growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we attended and just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not successful. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing regularly.

The Best Insight Learned From a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware what I’d done but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance took off again and went really, really well. But I think the insight gained in that moment was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. If you don’t know where you are, if you turn around and toward the people you’re with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun about it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a wonderfully positive way if you’re fully engaged in that moment. It may become a gift when things go completely the wrong way.

Memorable Exchanges with Fans

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

There isn't just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees 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 how much that character meant to them and was a form of support to them in those times.

What do you get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most detailed question is invariably regarding that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and do you think her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the components that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like blood vessels in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as bad as possible.

An Awkward Star Meeting

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

I attended a pilates class and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I attempted a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly identified her. And when she got up, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for what to say. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wished to explain: “Goodness, I am aware of who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Name

Articles have repeatedly stated 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 the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the most chaotic set of my career, and yet the final product turned out brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and must arrive on set punctually. But this was sort of flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a really different approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting 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 a crew member popping open a bottle during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, 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 retain numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I believe if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Guidance Given

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

When I was in high school, someone addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from failure than is gained from success. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, you learn so much more.