I just feel like TV takes more risks than film. Film has gotten very safe: it's very compartmentalized about what type of things will be successful. And whereas in TV, since all these new platforms opened, they're saying to writers, go out there, write the most different show that you can write. Write something that's really original and different.
— Miranda Otto
I always feel this huge responsibility to the script when it arrives, keeping it confidential.
I have been really lucky to play roles younger than myself for most of my career.
I got into medicine at university, then deferred a year to see. Then I started acting and just never went back to university.
It's so great to come in and do something where you know how strong the format of the show is and you're working with writers and directors who worked on the original show. It feels like you're going into a well-run ship already. Then it's just a matter of creating these new characters.
In everything I do, I like to set the idea for girls that they can do anything. I was really moved by Hillary Clinton's speech when she lost the election - she didn't want young girls to feel like it wasn't possible and wanted them to know a female president will eventually happen. That's important.
The detective genre is not easy because you've got to get to a conclusion that is unexpected.
I enjoyed playing someone who is a professional, intelligent, defined by her work and not her role as a wife or mother.
Usually, I end up looking for something completely different to who I last played. But there is just a spark that's lit when I read a script or character I want to play.
People often say, 'I thought you were much taller.' So, I don't know. Maybe it's the way I stand or something.
I think, with TV, you create kind of a family to work with.
I was researching my family tree, and I was deeply hoping I was going to turn out to be Eastern European, but I'm not.
I grew up seeing a lot of theatre, and it was theatre that really seduced me into acting - not film or television.
There are some great women's roles in television... so much more interesting than what I was reading in film scripts.
There are so many things from movies that are remembered, that are just looks on people's faces or incredible vistas or beautiful pictures. That is a very important part of cinema.
When I was younger, people would always say, 'Are you a ballet dancer?' I had that look - one of those skinny kids with my hair in a bun.
It's good to see a man who isn't afraid to live out his masculinity.
I really like research.
In the past, I was always drawn to really quirky, idiosyncratic characters.
Sometimes, as a young woman, you are boxed in more to playing characters that are emotional and vulnerable.
I was cast in a film toward the end of high school. Even then, I wasn't sure.
I've been on shows where they're just setting it up, and they're trying to find the tone of the writing and performance. That's always a really chaotic period on shows.
That is definitely something that I feel more comfortable with now. When I did 'Lord of the Rings,' it was something I wasn't quite prepared for, I didn't know how to deal with that sort of attention, and I kind of shied away from that, but I'm better at dealing with that now - a lot better.
Acting is bluffing, pretending to be something.
QVB have a long history of supporting Australian talent.
I tend to not think about the kind of movie things I want to be doing, because I've worked in all sorts of different places, and I've spent all sorts of time in England, and I'd still do things in Australia and in America.
Premieres are pretty fun, but probably the most fun was when I went to see 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' and I'd just flown in from Africa, and I hadn't even seen the movie yet. So, the first time I saw it was at the premiere. It was really fun.
I find, in film, we're always making things and having these intense friendships and then losing track of people. When I first start a job, I'm quite nervous, and it takes me a while to find my place, and then it feels like I'm just really loving it and feeling great, and it's all over.
I love the Russians for their verve, their melancholia, their vivacity, their unpredictability, and their humour.
Sadly, my German is almost non-existent, although I did a little at school.
As actors, we are accustomed to moving around, and it's always great to live and work in a city - you feel like you are truly living a life there.
You do remember things that people say in movies. You remember particular lines and things that are funny. But, you also remember really strong images. Images have a way of bypassing your brain and hitting you emotionally.
In Australia, it's people from Asian countries who most often recognise me. There are often people just looking at me at the supermarket, like they're shocked to think I would go to the supermarket.
When I was working on 'Homeland,' there was a consultant who helped me a lot... I went to Washington and met with my consultant there, and he actually organised a lunch with several people from the Intelligence Committee.
I worry about my sides. I worry where everything goes. I worry that I'm going to be the leak. I give all my scripts back!
As your career goes on, you get to flex your brain a little more and play characters that are stronger and more intelligent.
I ask myself, 'What is the value of acting and the attention that actors get? And yet there are so many people in the world doing incredible things for mankind, and they don't get much attention.' I do question about that, but I don't think I would've been a great doctor. I think I would've been a good surgeon. That fascinated me.
That fascinated me. I used to watch all these operations on TV and thought it would be really cool to do that.
There are so many successful women working in intelligence, but it's still seen as a male-dominated world.
I think 'Rake' was a very clever crossover, actually, because it does lend itself to the city of L.A.
Certain characters get to me and stay with me for a while.
Alison Carr on 'Homeland.' She was such great character to play, so clever and full of surprises. I was sad to see her go.
I think most big stars do have just a certain amount of mystery; you don't know everything.
There's a film I did years ago, 'Love Serenade,' that I still really love. It's such an oddball sense of humor. It was a really special film for me when I did it.
Yes, I like doing TV. I like the idea of going to work with the same people.
The whole theatre world deeply attracts me. I love rehearsing and having time to make mistakes and laugh and discover things about yourself and other people - and the energy level is great.
It's a little daunting coming on to work with actors that you respect so much.
I hate being pigeon-holed into anything. To me, the best thing is when the next job comes and is completely different to the one that I just had.
Writers would hate me saying this, and I love words, but I have to say that cinema exists, on one level, for the power of the big image and what that image does.
My parents split up when I was young, and they are still good friends. I think it's often projected that these things have to be so acrimonious. It's so often not the case.
