🔗 Share this article

During a revealing interview, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom gleaned from onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent 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 residing near 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 people actually go and see and talk about – it’s a special fish.

A Cinematic Staple to Return To

Which movie do you always return to, and why?

Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I adore this film. When I was growing up, it used to come on the ABC every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s the legendary Carole Lombard and Jack Benny. Recently they were showing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was also the favourite film of a friend of mine, and so we went and simply chuckled repeatedly. It’s such masterful work of comedy and the entire cast in it are fantastic. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not as effective. But the original film is a brilliant comedy, to be watched regularly.

A Priceless Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

Years ago I performed in A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not a couple. We portrayed characters opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I jumped ahead a few lines in the script. I didn’t know of my error but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe the insight gained then was, first, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know your place, 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 collaborative endeavor, acting on stage. And next, just to have a sense of fun regarding it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things actually spark off in a really great way if you’re fully engaged then. It may become a gift when things go completely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Admirers

What’s been your most touching interaction 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 accounts about what Eowyn impacted them when they were younger … 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 question is invariably regarding that infamous meal her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It’s become a running gag, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know the contents of the stew, and how was it made, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you think she really is a bad cook? People are, in my view, obsessed with the comedy of that scene. And I provide lengthy descriptions listing the ingredients that made up the stew – as I recall the efforts made; like they even put bits of red cotton to make it look like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to render it as unappetizing as possible.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What was your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

I was at a pilates class and there was a woman lying down doing pilates, and the teacher said to me, “Oh, Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and often when someone’s a Miranda, they work in media. I wasn’t really 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 stay and do my class, and I felt intense awkwardness. I wished to explain: “Oh my gosh, I am aware of who you are!” I consider she’s so fabulous and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Source of a Name

Articles have 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 clarify this once and for all?

Yes – I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum heard on the radio that they were inaugurating a shopping centre at Miranda, and she thought sounded like a nice name.

Chaos on Set

What was the 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 final product emerged incredibly well. But the local crew operated in such a different way. The sense of time there is really different. Typically, you normally have a call sheet and you have to be on set punctually. 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 very last minute, and at times the plan was unclear the next location or the methodology. And then you’d be in during a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was the producer opening a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was excellent, but wow, it’s a really different style of film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been good with numbers. I retain numbers more readily than I memorise words often, I simply have that kind of a brain. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I probably would have entered a field something to do with numbers, like math or accounting.

The Best Piece of Advice Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker addressed us when we were graduating and they said, “have no fear to fail” … which I think is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains so much more from failure than you learn from success. Success, you never really comprehends precisely why it happened. Failure, you learn abundant.