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In a candid conversation, the acclaimed performer delves on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through onstage mishaps and fan interactions.

If You Could Be a Sea Creature for a Day

The most recent character portrays Queen of the Cuttlefish in The Pout-Pout Fish; if you could be a fish for a day, which one would it be and why?

Straight away, the blue groper found at a specific shoreline – because it’s like an institution, and individuals visit to see it. I just think it’s cool that there’s a local fish that folks genuinely go and see and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Staple to Return To

Which movie do you repeatedly watch, and why?

The 1942 comedy To Be Or Not To Be. I love this film. During my childhood, it used to come on television every now and again, and once I videotaped it. I just thought it was hilarious. It’s Carole Lombard and comedian Jack Benny. Recently they were playing it at a cinema and I discovered that it was the preferred movie of a friend of mine, and so we went and just laughed and laughed. It’s such great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. The director Mel Brooks remade it in the 1980s – which was not successful. But Lubitsch's version is a brilliant comedy, worth viewing often.

A Priceless Insight Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but back then we were not a couple. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I tripped up – I skipped forward a few lines in the script. I was unaware of my error but I suddenly realised things were off. I recall glancing toward him, and he completely saved me, and then our performance regained momentum and proceeded splendidly. But I think the insight gained then was, firstly, consistently rely on the people in your scene. When you lose where you are, by looking and look at 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 something goes wrong, things actually spark off in a wonderfully positive way if you’re really present in that moment. It can be an unexpected boon when things go completely awry.

Heartening Exchanges with Fans

Can you describe your most memorable encounter with a fan?

It’s not a single specific meeting but when I meet fans of Lord of the Rings, particularly women, I am told numerous stories about how that character meant to them when they were younger … things that had happened in their lives and the extent to which that character signified for them and was a form of support to them during those periods.

Which questions 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 really that bad?” It’s become such a joke, the whole thing about the stew, and all fans wish to know what was in the stew, and its preparation method, and in your opinion her skills improved now, or do you believe she really is a bad cook? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the humour of that scene. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the ingredients that constituted the concoction – because I remember what they did; such as adding pieces of red cotton to simulate the appearance like bits of veins in the meat. They went to extreme measures to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

What’s been your most cringeworthy celebrity encounter?

I attended a pilates class and another participant lying down exercising, and the teacher remarked, “Hello Miranda, meet Miranda.” And I made some joke about, “might you be a journalist?” Since Miranda is 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 the actress Miranda Richardson. At that point, I was at a loss for words. I was obliged to stay and do my class, and I experienced intense awkwardness. I wanted to say: “Oh my gosh, I do know who you are!” I consider her talent is immense and I was simply too awestruck to utter a syllable.

The Source of a Moniker

Articles have 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 clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was named after the Sydney suburb. Mum learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name sounded like a pleasant choice.

Pandemonium on Location

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

While working in Brazil on Reaching for the Moon that was the least organized set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film turned out incredibly well. But they just work 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 sort of open ended – 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 sometimes the plan was unclear the next location or how we were going to do it. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and be like, “What caused that sound that disturbed the scene? Ah, it was a crew member popping open a bottle on set, to start a party.” The result was great, but wow, it’s a distinct style of film-making.

A Hidden Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I’ve always been an aptitude for numbers. I retain numbers easier 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 mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Ever Received

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

When I was in secondary school, someone addressed us as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … which I think is the best piece of advice, because you learn so much more from setbacks than is gained from success. With success, one rarely understand exactly how it happened. Failure, the lessons are so much more.