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In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her latest role as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Sea Creature 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?

Straight away, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – because it’s a local landmark, and people go there to see it. It strikes me it’s cool that there’s a local fish that people actually go and see and discuss – it’s a special fish.

A Film Staple to Return To

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. During my growing up, it would air on television every now and again, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was hilarious. It stars 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 an acquaintance, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It is a masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Co-Star

What is the most valuable lesson you learned from someone a colleague?

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We were playing as scene partners and during the premiere I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then our performance took off again and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, always trust the people in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and look at the people you’re with, you will find your correct position somehow. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude about it. Sometimes when something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It may become a gift when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Exchanges with Admirers

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I hear a lot of stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn signified for 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 specific inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Did that stew taste as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and everyone wants to know the contents of the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the humour of that situation. And I go into great detail listing the ingredients that made up the concoction – as I recall what they did; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most cringeworthy run-in with a famous person?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Since Miranda is an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I hadn't properly seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know words. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. 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 Source of a Name

It’s been confidently claimed that you were given your name from Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter definitively?

Yes – I was christened for the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at that location, and she thought sounded like 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 most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But they just work in a distinct manner. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather flexible – you come on set whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel approach for me. All aspects were being assembled at the final moment, and at times they wouldn’t know where they were shooting the next day how we were going to do it. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member popping open some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but goodness, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I learn dialogue often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe had I not ended up in acting, I likely might have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, since one gains so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.