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In a candid interview, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her newest character as Queen of the Cuttlefish to the profound lessons learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

Your latest role is the monarch of the cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could 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 seek out and discuss – it holds a unique status.

A Cinematic Favorite to Revisit

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. When I was childhood, it used to come on television occasionally, and once I recorded it. I just thought it was so funny. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled and laughed. It is a great piece of humor and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Learned From a Fellow Actor

What is the most valuable lesson you took away from someone you’ve worked with?

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I remember looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then the scene regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think what I learned in that moment was, first, consistently rely on the people in your scene. When you lose your place, if you turn around and look at the actors sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It’s such communal thing, performing live. And secondly, just to have a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great direction if you’re really present then. It may become a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most touching encounter with a fan?

There isn't a single particular interaction but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … events that occurred in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about that infamous meal that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the entire episode about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the pot, and how was it made, and do you think she’s a better cook now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, I think, obsessed with the comedy of that situation. And I provide great detail listing the components that made up the stew – as I recall what they did; like they even put bits of colored thread to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to great detail to render it as bad as possible.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What was 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, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I attempted some joke inquiring, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s 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 Miranda Richardson. At that point, I didn’t know words. I still had to complete my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to say anything.

The Source of a Moniker

It’s been 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 christened for a district in Sydney. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and she thought seemed a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set of my career, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set by a certain time. But this was rather flexible – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. The elements were being assembled at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear the next location the next day how we were going to do it. And then I would be in during a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening some champagne during filming, to start a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Talent

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I believe if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone came to speak when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn far more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.