🔗 Share this article

Through a thoughtful interview, the acclaimed performer opens up on topics ranging from her latest role as a regal sea creature to the invaluable wisdom learned through theatrical mistakes and meeting admirers.

If You Could Be 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?

Without hesitation, that particular fish residing near Clovelly beach – since it is like an institution, and people go there specifically to spot it. I just think as remarkable that there’s a local fish that people actually seek out and talk about – it holds a unique status.

A Film Favorite to Revisit

What film do you always return to, and why?

The 1942 film To Be Or Not To Be. I adore 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’s 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 just laughed repeatedly. It is a great piece of comedy and all the actors in it are superb. Mel Brooks did a remake in the 1980s – that wasn’t successful. But the original film is an exceptional farce, to be watched often.

The Best Lesson Gained Through a Fellow Actor

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

I was doing A Doll’s House with Pete – my husband now, but at the time we were not together. We were playing opposite each other and on opening night I stumbled – I jumped ahead some dialogue in the script. I didn’t know what I’d done but I abruptly sensed things were off. I recall looking at him, and he expertly rescued the moment, and then the scene took off again and proceeded splendidly. However, I believe what I learned in that moment was, firstly, always trust the individuals you’re working with. If you don’t know where you are, by looking and toward the people you’re with, you will find where you’re meant to be somehow. It’s such communal thing, acting on stage. And secondly, to maintain a sense of fun about it. Sometimes when a mistake occurs, things can ignite in a really great way provided you are 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, especially female fans, I hear a lot of accounts about how that character impacted them when they were growing up … events that occurred in their lives and how much that character signified for them and was some kind of help to them during those periods.

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

The most detailed inquiry concerns always about the stew her character prepares for Aragorn. “Was the stew as terrible as it looked?” It has evolved into a running gag, the whole thing involving that dish, and everyone wants 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 poor chef? Fans seem, in my view, fascinated by the humour of that situation. And I go into lengthy descriptions describing the components that constituted the stew – because I remember the efforts made; such as put bits of colored thread to make it look like blood vessels in the meat. They went to great detail to make it look as bad as they could.

An Awkward Star Encounter

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

I was at a fitness session and another participant on a mat doing pilates, and the instructor said to me, “Hello Miranda, this is Miranda.” And I made some joke inquiring, “might you be a journalist?” Because it’s an uncommon moniker and most of the time when I meet another Miranda, they’re a journalist. I wasn’t really seeing who it was. And as she rose, it was Miranda Richardson. At that point, 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 do know your work!” I think her talent is immense and I was just too starstruck to say anything.

The Origin of a Moniker

Articles have repeatedly stated that you were named after Prospero’s daughter in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and yet you've mentioned stating otherwise – can you clarify this definitively?

Indeed, I was christened for the Sydney suburb. My mother learned via broadcast that they were inaugurating a mall at that location, and the name seemed a pleasant choice.

Chaos on Location

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

While working in Brazil for the film Reaching for the Moon I experienced the most chaotic set I’ve ever worked on, and yet the film emerged brilliantly. But they just work in such a different way. Their concept of time there is really different. In Australia, you receive a call sheet and must arrive on set punctually. But this was rather flexible – one would appear at one's convenience. It was a really different way of working for me. The elements were all coming together at the final moment, and sometimes the plan was unclear where they were shooting the next day the methodology. And then I would be in the middle of a scene and wondering, “What was that noise that disturbed the scene? Oh, it’s a crew member opening some champagne on set, because he’s making a party.” It turned out great, but wow, it’s a really different approach to film-making.

A Secret Skill

What are you secretly good at?

I naturally possess an aptitude for numbers. I memorise numbers easier than I learn dialogue often, I simply have a numerically-oriented mind. So I think if I hadn’t ended up in acting, I likely might have worked in something to do with numbers, like mathematics or accounting.

The Finest Guidance Given

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

When I was in secondary school, a speaker came to speak as we were graduating and stated, “don’t be afraid to fail” … an idea I consider is supremely valuable counsel, since one gains far more from setbacks than you learn from success. With success, one rarely understand precisely why it happened. With failure, the lessons are abundant.