In 2002, Miranda Otto found herself in the mountainous wilds of New Zealand learning swordcraft to play the role of Eowyn in the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. On the South Island’s golden grasslands, she delivered one of the series’ most memorable lines while dispatching the Witch-King of Angmar, who had said that no man could kill him. As Miranda plunged her sword into the foe, she ripped off her helmet and declared, “I am no man!”
It was a favourite role, and one Miranda says will stay with her forever. It also gave her the chance to spend some time with her half-sister, Gracie, then 13, who stayed with her for a week on set. Gracie ended up appearing in the trilogy, and having her eyes opened to a side of filmmaking she’d never known.
The epic scale of the project was such that it was common for visitors to be recruited into the Middle Earth cast. “I think everybody’s family was an extra at some point,” Miranda laughs.
As transformational as the role was for Miranda, the visit left a lasting impact on Gracie, too. She had been raised around actors, and so had a better understanding of the craft than most, but she had never been given up-close access to such a grand production.
“It was great. I remember walking around and seeing [director] Peter Jackson in his gumboots and thinking, I just want to be like that guy. I found his job the most interesting,” she says. “I loved the film and TV world. I just never really wanted to be an actor.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2023 من The Australian Women's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2023 من The Australian Women's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
