Miranda Otto

Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a variety of independent and major studio films in Australia. She made her major film debut in '' Emma's War'', in which she played a teenager who moves to Australia's bush country during World War II."The Right Stage of Life"
''The Sydney Morning Herald''. 26 September 2005; retrieved 8 April 2007.

After a decade of critically acclaimed roles in Australian films, Otto gained Hollywood's attention during the 1990s after appearing in supporting roles in the films '' The Thin Red Line'' and ''What Lies Beneath''. She rose to fame in the early 2000s for her role as Éowyn in Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, based on the classic fantasy novel of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien.

Early life

Otto was born on 16 December 1967 in Brisbane and was raised there and in Newcastle. She briefly lived in Hong Kong following her parents' divorce at age six.Scobie, Claire. "Balancing Act". ''The Herald Sun''. 26 June 2005. She spent weekends and holidays with her father in Sydney and developed an interest in acting through him.Keenan, Catherine
"Family Viewing"
''The Sydney Morning Herald''. 1 October 2005; retrieved 6 April 2007.

During her childhood, Otto and her friends wrote scripts and designed costumes and flyers in their spare time.Williams, Sue
"Doing It Her Way"
. ''The Australian Women's Weekly''. July 2003; retrieved 6 April 2007. She appeared in several plays at the Nimrod Theatre, which attracted the attention of casting director Faith Martin. Subsequently, Otto received a role in the 1986 World War II drama '' Emma's War''.

She had wanted to be a ballerina but was forced to abandon this goal due to moderate scoliosis. Otto graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in 1990.Slee, Amruta
"Miranda Otto Goes Off"
. ''HQ Magazine''. September/October 1997; retrieved 6 April 2007. Prior to graduation, she appeared in minor film roles including '' Initiation'' (1987) and '' The 13th Floor'' (1988)."Miranda Otto Filmography"
. Yahoo! Movies; retrieved 6 April 2007.

Career

Early career

Otto's first post-graduation film role in 1991, as Nell Tiscowitz in ''The Girl Who Came Late'', was her breakthrough role which brought her to the attention of the Australian film industry and the general public. In the film, directed by Kathy Mueller, she starred as a young woman who could communicate with horses. Her appearance garnered Otto her first Australian Film Institute nomination for the best actress award the following year.

Otto's next role was in the film '' The Last Days of Chez Nous'', which portrayed the complex relationships between the members of an Australian family. The film earned Otto her second Australian Film Institute nomination, this time for the best supporting actress award.

In 1993, Otto co-starred with Noah Taylor in the sexually provocative comedy film ''The Nostradamus Kid'', which was based on the memories of author Bob Ellis during the 1960s. Otto was drawn to the film because she was "fascinated by the period and the people who came out of it".Bass, Matthew
"Miranda Otto Interview"
''Cinema Papers''. October 1997; retrieved 7 April 2007. A small role in the independent film '' Sex Is a Four Letter Word'' followed in 1995.

In 1995, she began to doubt her career choice as she failed to get the parts for which she auditioned. She retreated to her home in Newcastle for almost a year, during which she painted her mother's house. In 1996, director Shirley Barrett cast Otto as a shy waitress in the film '' Love Serenade''. She played Dimity Hurley, a lonely young woman who competes with her older sister Vicki-Ann for the attention of a famous DJ from Brisbane. She starred in the 1997 films ''The Well'' and ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline''. When Otto received the film script for ''The Well'', she refused to read it, fearing that she would not get the part. Otto believed that she could not convincingly play the role of Katherine, who is supposed to be 18, as she was 30 at the time. The film, directed by Samantha Lang, starred Otto as a teenager involved in a claustrophobic relationship with a lonely older woman. ''The Well'' received mixed reviews; critic Paul Fisher wrote that Otto's performance was not "convincing" as she was "playing another repetitious character about whom little is revealed", while Louise Keller stated that Otto had delivered "her best screen performance yet." Otto earned her third Australian Film Institute nomination for the film. Later that year, she co-starred with Richard Roxburgh in the drama ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline''. The low-budget Australian film required Otto to perform country music standards and also received mixed reviews from film critics.

Soon after the release of ''The Well'' and ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline'', magazines and other media outlets were eager to profile the actress. In 1997, Otto began dating her ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' co-star Richard Roxburgh. Her involvement with Roxburgh made her a regular subject of Australian tabloid magazines and media at the time, a role to which she was unaccustomed.Scobie, Claire
"Serene, Not Dreamy"
''The Age''. 26 June 2005; retrieved 8 April 2007.

Otto's next project was the romantic comedy ''Dead Letter Office'' (1998). The film was Otto's first with her father, Barry, who makes a brief appearance. '' In the Winter Dark'', directed by James Bogle, followed later that year. Otto played Ronnie, a pregnant woman recently abandoned by her boyfriend. The film was a critical success in Australia, and Otto was nominated for her fourth Australian Film Institute Award. A small role in '' The Thin Red Line'' led to further film roles outside of Australia,"Miranda Otto Biography"
, Yahoo! Movies; retrieved 9 April 2007. such as in Italy, where she co-starred as Ruth in the low-budget Italian film ''La volpe a tre zampe'' (''"The Three-legged Fox"''), produced in 2001 and broadcast for the first time on Italian television in March 2009.

Hollywood

Otto's first Hollywood role was the suspense thriller ''What Lies Beneath'' in 2000. She played Mary Feur, a mysterious next-door neighbor.

In 2001, she was cast as a naturalist in the comedy ''Human Nature''. Writer Charlie Kaufman, impressed by her audition two years earlier for his film ''Being John Malkovich'', arranged for Otto to audition and meet with the film's director Michel Gondry. Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson criticized Otto's French accent and wrote that she "doesn't seem to mesh with what's going on around her".

Also in 2001, Otto appeared in the BBC
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