🔗 Share this article

During a revealing discussion, the acclaimed performer opens up 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 Fish for a Day

The most recent 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?

Straight away, that particular fish found at a specific shoreline – since it is like an institution, and people go there to see it. I just think as remarkable that a resident aquatic creature that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and one time I videotaped it. I found it was so funny. It stars the legendary Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at the Ritz and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of an acquaintance, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It is a great piece of humor and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – that wasn’t as effective. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Co-Star

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – now my spouse, but at the time we were not together. We portrayed characters as scene partners and on opening night I tripped up – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I suddenly realised something wasn’t right. I remember glancing toward him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene 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 where you are, by looking and toward the people sharing the stage with, you can rediscover where you’re meant to be in some way. It is a profoundly collaborative endeavor, performing live. And secondly, to maintain a lighthearted attitude regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way provided you are fully engaged in that moment. It can be a gift when things go absolutely the wrong way.

Heartening Interactions with Fans

Can you describe your most touching interaction with a fan?

It’s not just one specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, especially female fans, I am told numerous accounts about how that character impacted them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which Eowyn signified for them and was some kind of help to them in those times.

Which questions get asked about the most by Lord of the Rings fans?

The most specific question is always about 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 all fans wish 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, I think, fascinated by the comedy of that scene. And I go into great detail describing the ingredients that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; such as adding pieces of red cotton to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. The crew employed extreme measures to render it as bad as they could.

A Cringeworthy Star Meeting

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

I was at a fitness session and there was a woman on a mat exercising, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made a lighthearted remark inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when someone’s a Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was the actress Miranda Richardson. Then I didn’t know what to say. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced so embarrassed. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of your work!” I think 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 you've mentioned you saying otherwise – can you clarify this once and for all?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought seemed a nice name.

Chaos on Set

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the final product turned out incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. Their concept of time there is unique. Typically, you normally have a schedule and you have to be on set punctually. But this was sort of open ended – one would appear whenever you happen to be ready. It was a novel way of working for me. All aspects were all coming together at the very last minute, and sometimes they wouldn’t know the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What caused that sound that just interrupted the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening some champagne during filming, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

Do you have a secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I memorise words a lot of the time, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t pursued acting, I likely might have entered a field involving numbers, like math or finance.

The Best Guidance Ever Received

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

During my time in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … an idea I consider is the best piece of advice, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from triumph. With success, one rarely comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.