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In a candid discussion, the acclaimed performer delves on subjects as varied as her newest character as a regal sea creature to the profound lessons gleaned from theatrical mistakes and fan interactions.

Given the Chance to Become a Fish for a Day

The most recent character portrays Queen 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, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – since it is a local landmark, and individuals visit to see it. I just think it’s cool that a resident aquatic creature that people actually seek out and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Revisit

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this picture. When I was childhood, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and one time I recorded it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Not long ago they were playing it at a cinema and it turned out that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Lesson Learned From a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House alongside Peter O’Brien – now my spouse, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters as scene partners and during the premiere I tripped up – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised things were off. 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 what I learned then was, first, consistently rely on the people you’re working with. When you lose your place, if you turn around and toward the actors sharing the stage with, you will find your correct position somehow. It is a profoundly communal thing, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Occasionally when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great direction provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It may become an unexpected boon when things go absolutely awry.

Memorable Interactions with Fans

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

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I encounter devotees of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous accounts about what Eowyn meant to them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much Eowyn meant to 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 the stew that Eowyn serves Aragorn. “Was the stew really that bad?” It has evolved into such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish 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, I think, obsessed with the humour of that scene. And I go into great detail listing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; like they even put bits of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to make it look as unappetizing as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a fitness session and there was a woman lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark about, “oh, are you a journalist?” Because it’s an unusual name and often 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 what to say. I still had to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I do know your work!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

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 I’ve read you saying otherwise – can you settle the matter once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for 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.

Pandemonium on Set

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

When I was working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon I experienced the least organized set of my career, and yet the film emerged incredibly well. But they just work in such a different way. The sense of time there is unique. Typically, you receive a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was rather open ended – you come on set at one's convenience. It was a novel approach for me. The elements were being assembled at the very last minute, and sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting or the methodology. And then I would be in during a scene and be like, “What was that noise that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer popping open a bottle on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Talent

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers more readily than I memorise words a lot of the time, I’ve just got a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I probably would have worked in involving numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Guidance Given

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 stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, because you learn so much more from failure than is gained from triumph. With success, you never really comprehends exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are abundant.