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{{short description|Australian actress (born 1967)}}
{{Infobox actor
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2014}}
| image = Miranda Otto.jpg
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
| imagesize =
{{Infobox person
| caption = Otto at Ring*Con 2006 in [[Fulda]], [[Germany]]
| birthname =
| name = Miranda Otto
| birthdate = {{birth date and age |1967|12|16}}
| image = Miranda Otto by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption = Otto at the 2016 [[San Diego Comic-Con]]
| birthplace = [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]],<br> [[Australia]]
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| deathdate =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|12|16|df=yes}}
| deathplace =
| birth_place = [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], Australia
| othername =
| occupation = Actress
| yearsactive = 1986–present
| years_active = 1986–present
| spouse = [[Peter O'Brien]] (2003–present)
| education = [[National Institute of Dramatic Art]] ([[Bachelor of Fine Arts|BFA]])
| homepage =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Peter O'Brien (actor)|Peter O'Brien]]|2003}}
| sagawards = '''[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]]'''<br>2003 ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]''
| children = 1
| known_for = [[Éowyn]] in ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings]]''
| parents = [[Barry Otto]] (father)
| relatives = [[Gracie Otto]] (half-sister)
}}
}}
'''Miranda Otto''' (born [[December 16]], [[1967]]) is an [[Australia]]n [[actor|actress]]. The daughter of actors [[Barry Otto|Barry]] and Lindsay Otto, she began acting at age nineteen, and has performed in a variety of low-budget and major studio films.
'''Miranda Otto''' (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors [[Barry Otto|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 (film)|Emma's War]]'' in 1987 in which she played a teenager who moves to Australia's bush country during [[World War II]].<ref name="RightStage">[https://www.smh.com.au/news/film/the-right-stage-of-life/2005/09/25/1127586737926.html "The Right Stage of Life"]. ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. 26 September 2005; retrieved 8 April 2007.</ref>


Her first major film appearance was in the 1986 film ''Emma's War'', in which she played a teenager who moves to Australia's bush country during [[World War II]]. After a decade of critically acclaimed roles in Australian films, she gained [[Hollywood]]'s attention after appearing in supporting roles in ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]'' (1998) and ''[[What Lies Beneath]]'' (2000). Her breakthrough role was in 2002, when her character [[Éowyn]] appeared in ''[[The Lord of the Rings film trilogy|The Lord of the Rings]]'' trilogy.
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 (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]'' and ''[[What Lies Beneath]]''. She rose to fame in the early 2000s for playing [[Éowyn]] in [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film series]], based on the [[The Lord of the Rings|classic fantasy novel of the same name]] by English author [[J. R. R. Tolkien]].

Her private life, including her relationships with actors [[Richard Roxburgh]] and [[Peter O'Brien]], has been much discussed in the media. In 2008, she began starring in the [[United States|American]] [[Television program|television series]] ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]'' and will appear in the film ''How to Change in 9 Weeks''.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Otto was born in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], to stage and film actor [[Barry Otto]] and former actress Lindsay Otto (who retired from acting upon Otto's birth). Gracie Otto, Miranda's half-sister, is also an actress.<ref name="RightStage">September 26, 2005, [http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/the-right-stage-of-life/2005/09/25/1127586737926.html "The Right Stage of Life"], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. Retrieved [[April 8]], [[2007]].</ref> Otto was raised in [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] and Brisbane, and briefly resided in [[Hong Kong]] following her parents' separation in 1973.<ref name="BalancingAct">Scobie, Claire (June 26, 2005), "Balancing Act", ''The [[Herald Sun]]''.</ref> She spent weekends and holidays with her father in Sydney and developed an interest in [[acting]] through him.<ref name="FamilyViewing">Keenan, Catherine (October 1, 2005), [http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/family-viewing/2005/09/29/1127804613819.html "Family Viewing"], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. Retrieved [[April 6]], [[2007]].</ref>
Otto was born on 16 December 1967<ref>{{Cite web |title=Miranda Otto – Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/miranda_otto |access-date=2022-12-18 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref> in [[Brisbane]] and was raised there and in [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]]. She briefly lived in [[Hong Kong]] following her parents' divorce at age six.<ref name="BalancingAct">Scobie, Claire. "Balancing Act". ''The [[Herald Sun]]''. 26 June 2005.</ref> She spent weekends and holidays with her father in Sydney and developed an interest in acting through him.<ref name="FamilyViewing">Keenan, Catherine. [https://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/family-viewing/2005/09/29/1127804613819.html "Family Viewing"]. ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. 1 October 2005; retrieved 6 April 2007.</ref>


In her childhood, Otto and her friends wrote scripts and designed costumes and flyers in their spare time.<ref name="DoingItHerWay">Williams, Sue (July 2003), [http://www.miranda-otto.com/2003womensweekly.php "Doing It Her Way"], ''The Australian Women's Weekly''. Retrieved [[April 6]], [[2007]].</ref> 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''.<ref name="FamilyViewing" /> As a teenager, Otto excelled in academics and in [[ballet]], which she considered as a career option. However, she had to abandon this goal due to moderate [[scoliosis]].<ref name="BalancingAct" /> Otto graduated from the [[National Institute of Dramatic Art]] in Sydney in 1990.<ref name="GoesOff">Slee, Amruta (September/October 1997), [http://www.miranda-otto.com/1997hq.php "Miranda Otto Goes Off"], ''HQ Magazine''. Retrieved [[April 6]], [[2007]].</ref> Prior to graduation, she appeared in minor film roles including ''Initiation'' (1987) and ''The 13th Floor'' (1988).<ref name="Filmography">[http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010615/filmography Miranda Otto Filmography], [[Yahoo!|Yahoo! Movies]]. Retrieved [[April 6]], [[2007]].</ref>
During her childhood, Otto and her friends wrote scripts and designed costumes and flyers in their spare time.<ref name="DoingItHerWay">Williams, Sue. [http://www.miranda-otto.com/2003womensweekly.php "Doing It Her Way"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026164641/http://www.miranda-otto.com/2003womensweekly.php |date=26 October 2006 }}. ''The Australian Women's Weekly''. July 2003; retrieved 6 April 2007.</ref> She appeared in several plays at the [[Nimrod Theatre Company|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 (film)|Emma's War]]''.<ref name="FamilyViewing"/>

She had wanted to be a [[ballerina]] but was forced to abandon this goal due to moderate [[scoliosis]].<ref name="BalancingAct"/> Otto graduated from the [[National Institute of Dramatic Art]] in Sydney in 1990.<ref name="GoesOff">Slee, Amruta. [http://www.miranda-otto.com/1997hq.php "Miranda Otto Goes Off"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726095522/http://www.miranda-otto.com/1997hq.php |date=26 July 2009 }}. ''HQ Magazine''. September/October 1997; retrieved 6 April 2007.</ref> Prior to graduation, she appeared in minor film roles including ''[[Initiation (1987 film)|Initiation]]'' (1987) and ''[[The 13th Floor (1988 film)|The 13th Floor]]'' (1988).<ref name="Filmography">[https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010615/filmography "Miranda Otto Filmography"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628212714/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010615/filmography |date=28 June 2011 }}. [[Yahoo!|Yahoo! Movies]]; retrieved 6 April 2007.</ref>


==Career==
==Career==

===Early 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 "Best Actress" the following year.<ref name="yahoo" />
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.<ref name="yahoo"/>


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 "Best Supporting Actress".<ref name="yahoo" /> 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."<ref name="Interview">Bass, Matthew (October 1997), [http://www.tolkien-movies.com/words/2000/03-01-00b.htm "Miranda Otto Interview"], ''Cinema Papers ''. Retrieved [[April 7]], [[2007]].</ref> A small role in the independent film ''Sex Is a Four Letter Word'' followed in 1995.<ref name="Filmography" />
Otto's next role was in ''[[The Last Days of Chez Nous]]'' (1991), 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.<ref name="yahoo"/>
[[Image:Loveserenade-MirandaOtto.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Otto as Dimity Hurley in ''[[Love Serenade]]'' (1996)]]


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".<ref name="Interview">Bass, Matthew. [http://www.tolkien-movies.com/words/2000/03-01-00b.htm "Miranda Otto Interview"]. ''Cinema Papers''. October 1997; retrieved 7 April 2007.</ref> A small role in the independent film ''[[Sex Is a Four Letter Word]]'' followed in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/sex-is-a-four-letter-word-1200442703/ |title=Sex Is a Four Letter Word |last=Stratton |first=David |date=25 September 1995 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=5 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613233247/https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/sex-is-a-four-letter-word-1200442703/ |archive-date=13 June 2022}}</ref>
In 1995, Otto began to doubt her career choice as she failed to get the parts for which she auditioned.<ref name="GoesOff" /> She fled to her home in Newcastle for almost a year, during which she painted her mother's house.<ref name="GoesOff" /> 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 [[Disc jockey|DJ]] from [[Brisbane]]. The film was met with positive reviews and Otto's performance was praised: Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews felt that Otto's performance was "the most interesting and funniest" of the film.<ref>Rhodes, Steve (1996), [http://reviews.imdb.com/Reviews/79/7981 "Love Serenade Review"], Internet Reviews. Retrieved [[April 7]], [[2007]].</ref>


Otto's first starring roles were in the 1997 films ''[[The Well (1997 film)|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 eighteen, as she was thirty years old at the time.<ref name="GoesOff" /> 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."<ref>Fisher, Paul and Louise Keller (1997), [http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=332&s=Reviews "The Well Reviews"], Urban Cinefile. Retrieved [[April 7]], [[2007]].</ref> Otto earned her third Australian Film Institute nomination for the film.<ref name="yahoo" /> 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.<ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10001629-doing_time_for_patsy_cline/ "Doing Time for Patsy Cline" Reviews], ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]''. Retrieved [[May 29]], [[2007]].</ref>
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, New South Wales|Newcastle]] for almost a year, during which she painted her mother's house.<ref name="GoesOff"/> 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 (1997 film)|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.<ref name="GoesOff"/> 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."<ref>Fisher, Paul and Louise Keller. [http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=332&s=Reviews "The Well Reviews"]. UrbanCinefile.com.au. 1997; retrieved 7 April 2007.</ref> Otto earned her third Australian Film Institute nomination for the film.<ref name="yahoo"/> 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.<ref>[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10001629-doing_time_for_patsy_cline/ ""Doing Time for Patsy Cline" Reviews"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217021912/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10001629-doing_time_for_patsy_cline/ |date=17 December 2007 }}. ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]''; retrieved 29 May 2007.</ref>


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.<ref name="serene">Scobie, Claire (June 26, 2005), [http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/serene-not-dreamy/2005/06/26/1119724516203.html "Serene, Not Dreamy"], ''[[The Age]]''. Retrieved [[April 8]], [[2007]].</ref>
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 (newspaper format)|tabloid]] magazines and media at the time, a role to which she was unaccustomed.<ref name="serene">Scobie, Claire. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/serene-not-dreamy/2005/06/26/1119724516203.html "Serene, Not Dreamy"]. ''[[The Age]]''. 26 June 2005; retrieved 8 April 2007.</ref>


Otto's next project was the romantic comedy ''Dead Letter Office'' (1998). The film was Otto's first with her father, [[Barry Otto|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.<ref name="yahoo" /> A small role in the big-budget [[World War II]] film ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]'', starring [[George Clooney]] and [[Sean Penn]], led to further film roles outside of Australia.<ref name="yahoo">[http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010615/bio Miranda Otto Biography], [[Yahoo!|Yahoo! Movies]]. Retrieved [[April 9]], [[2007]].</ref>
Otto's next project was the romantic comedy ''[[Dead Letter Office (film)|Dead Letter Office]]'' (1998). The film was Otto's first with her father, [[Barry Otto|Barry]], who makes a brief appearance. ''[[In the Winter Dark (film)|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.<ref name="yahoo">[https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010615/bio "Miranda Otto Biography"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628212721/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010615/bio|date=28 June 2011}}, [[Yahoo!|Yahoo! Movies]]; retrieved 9 April 2007.</ref> A small role in ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]'' (1998) led to further film roles outside of Australia,<ref>{{cite news |last=Romney |first=Jonathan |date=26 February 1999 |title=Treading the line |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian/0,,31612,00.html |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=5 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008181951/https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian/0,,31612,00.html |archive-date=8 October 2022}}</ref> 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"''),<ref>{{cite book |last=Shelley |first=Peter |date=2012 |title=Australian Horror Films, 1973–2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsOSKIVbGUQC&pg=PA136 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |page=136 |isbn=978-0-7864-6167-7}}</ref> produced in 2001 and broadcast for the first time on Italian television in March 2009.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marlow-Mann |first=Alex |date=2011 |title=New Neapolitan Cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSerBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] |page=36 |isbn=978-0-7486-4066-9}}</ref>


===Hollywood===
===Hollywood===
Otto's first [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] role was the [[Thriller film|suspense thriller]] ''[[What Lies Beneath]]'' in 2000. She played Mary Feur, a mysterious next-door neighbour.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Elvis |date=21 July 2000 |title='What Lies Beneath': If Only Her Husband Hadn't Made That Horrible Mistake |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/partners/microsites/visa/movies/0724beneath.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=5 August 2023}}</ref>
Otto's first [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] role was opposite [[Harrison Ford]] and [[Michelle Pfeiffer]] in the [[Thriller (genre)|suspense thriller]] ''[[What Lies Beneath]]'' in 2000. She played Mary Feur, a mysterious next-door neighbor. The film was met with mixed reviews, but was an international success, grossing [[United States dollar|US$]]291 million.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=whatliesbeneath.htm What Lies Beneath Box Office Data], Box Office Mojo. Retrieved [[April 10]], [[2007]].</ref> In 2001, Otto was cast as a [[Natural history|naturalist]] in the comedy ''[[Human Nature (film)|Human Nature]]''. Writer and director [[Spike Jonze]], 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]].<ref name="Venice">Landry, B. Jude (April 2002), [http://www.miranda-otto.com/2002venice.php "Have Talent, Will Travel"], ''Venice: L.A.'s Arts and Entertainment Magazine''. Retrieved [[April 11]], [[2007]].</ref> ''Human Nature'' was both a commercial and critical disappointment.<ref>[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=humannature.htm Human Nature Box Office Data], Box Office Mojo. Retrieved [[May 29]], [[2007]].</ref> 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."<ref>Anderson, Jeffrey M. (April 2002), [http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/2002/humannat.shtml "To Err Is 'Human'"], combustiblecelluloid.com. Retrieved [[April 11]], [[2007]].</ref> That same year, she also appeared in the [[BBC]] adaptation of [[Anthony Trollope]]'s ''[[The Way We Live Now]]'', as a strong-willed American Southerner determined to manipulate [[Cillian Murphy]] into marrying her.


In 2001, she was cast as a [[Natural history|naturalist]] in the comedy ''[[Human Nature (2001 film)|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]].<ref name="Venice">{{cite news |url=http://www.miranda-otto.com/2002venice.php |title=Have Talent, Will Travel |last=Landry |first=B. Jude |work=Venice: L.A.'s Arts and Entertainment Magazine |date=April 2002 |access-date=11 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017214520/http://miranda-otto.com/2002venice.php |archive-date=17 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson criticised Otto's French accent and wrote that she "doesn't seem to mesh with what's going on around her".<ref>Anderson, Jeffrey M. (April 2002), [http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/2002/humannat.shtml "To Err Is 'Human'"]. CombustibleCelluloid.com. Retrieved 11 April 2007.</ref>
[[Image:LOTRTT1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Miranda Otto as [[Éowyn]] in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' (2003)]]


Also in 2001, Otto appeared in the [[BBC]] adaptation of [[Anthony Trollope]]'s ''[[The Way We Live Now (2001 TV serial)|The Way We Live Now]]'', as a strong-willed American Southerner.<ref>{{cite news |last=James |first=Caryn |date=1 April 2002 |title=Succumbing to the Lure of Money, Whatever the Source |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/01/books/television-review-succumbing-to-the-lure-of-money-whatever-the-source.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=5 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705072031/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/01/books/television-review-succumbing-to-the-lure-of-money-whatever-the-source.html |archive-date=5 July 2018}}</ref>
In 1999, Otto was cast as [[Éowyn]], a [[shieldmaiden]] of [[Rohan]], in [[The Lord of the Rings film trilogy|''The Lord of the Rings'']] film trilogy. Director [[Peter Jackson]] cast her immediately after viewing the audition video she had filmed in Australia.<ref>Nathan, Ian (January 2003), [http://www.miranda-otto.com/2003empire.php "Meet Éowyn, Tolkien's Ballsiest Lady"], ''Empire Mahazine''. Retrieved [[April 11]], [[2007]].</ref> For the role, Otto spent six weeks learning stunt choreography and horseback riding.<ref>November 2003, [http://www.miranda-otto.com/2003lotrofficial.php "Emerging Eowyn: Heavy Burdens and Slashing Swords"], Official Lord of the Rings Website. Retrieved [[April 11]], [[2007]].</ref> Otto's character was introduced in the trilogy's second film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' in 2002 and appeared in the third film, ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'', the following year. ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy was a critical and financial success, and the third film won the [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] in 2004.<ref>March 1, 2004, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3495748.stm "Rings scores Oscars clean sweep Awards"], [[BBC]]. Retrieved [[May 29]], [[2007]].</ref> Otto's performance earned her an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nomination for Best Supporting Actress.<ref name="awards">[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001584/awards Awards for Miranda Otto], imdb.com. Retrieved [[May 29]], [[2007]].</ref>


In 1999, Otto was cast as [[Éowyn]] in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'']] film trilogy, after [[Uma Thurman]] turned down the role.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/uma-thurman-regrets-turning-down-lord-of-the-rings-role-stephen-colbert-watch-1201930528/ |title=Uma Thurman Regrets Turning Down "Lord of the Rings" Role |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=22 February 2017 |access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref> Director [[Peter Jackson]] cast her immediately after viewing the audition video she had filmed in Australia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.miranda-otto.com/2003empire.php |title=The Two Towers Preview: Miranda Otto, The White Lady |first=Ian |last=Nathan |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=January 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017214528/http://miranda-otto.com/2003empire.php |archive-date=17 October 2007 |access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref> For the role, Otto spent six weeks learning stunt choreography and horse riding.<ref>[http://www.lordoftherings.net/index_editorials_otto_interview_video.html "Emerging Eowyn: Heavy Burdens and Slashing Swords"]. LordOfTheRings.net. November 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2007.</ref> Otto's character was introduced in the trilogy's second film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' in 2002 and appeared in the third film, ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'', the following year. ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy was a critical and financial success, and the third film won the [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] in 2004.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3495748.stm "Rings scores Oscars clean sweep Awards"]. [[BBC]]. 4 March 2004; retrieved 29 May 2007.</ref> Otto's performance earned her an [[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films]] nomination for [[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films|Best Supporting Actress]].
Otto's next project was the Australian television [[miniseries]] ''Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story'' (2004). The film is a drama that portrays the true story of [[Lindy Chamberlain]]; in 1982 she was convicted of killing her baby daughter, Azaria, in one of Australia's most publicized murder trials. Otto was cast as Chamberlain after her husband, [[Peter O'Brien]], had been cast as prosecutor Ian Barker. She was drawn to the role because it provided her with the "prospect of exploring an unconventional character."<ref>Enker, Debi (November 18, 2004), [http://www.theage.com.au/news/TV--Radio/Through-their-eyes/2004/11/17/1100574519902.html?from=storyrhs "Through Their Eyes"], ''[[The Age]]''. Retrieved [[April 12]], [[2007]].</ref> At the 2005 [[Logie Award]]s, Otto won "Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series" for her role.<ref name="awards" />
[[File:Miranda Otto.jpg|left|thumb|Otto at Ring*Con in Germany in 2006]]
Otto's next project was playing the lead in the Australian film ''[[Danny Deckchair]]'' (2003). She then took on the Australian television [[miniseries]] ''[[Through My Eyes (TV drama)|Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story]]'' (2004). The film is a drama that portrays the story of [[Lindy Chamberlain]], who was wrongfully convicted in 1982 of killing her baby daughter, Azaria, in one of the country's most publicized murder trials. Otto was cast as Chamberlain, and her husband, [[Peter O'Brien (actor)|Peter O'Brien]], was cast as prosecutor Ian Barker. She was drawn to the role because it provided her with the "prospect of exploring an unconventional character."<ref>Enker, Debi. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/TV--Radio/Through-their-eyes/2004/11/17/1100574519902.html?from=storyrhs "Through Their Eyes"]. ''[[The Age]]''. 18 November 2004. 12 April 2007.</ref> At the 2005 [[Logie Award]]s, Otto won Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her role.<ref name="logie">{{cite news |last1=Idato |first1=Michael |title=Once, twice, three times a Gold Logie |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/once-twice-three-times-a-gold-logie-20050502-gdl8io.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |department=News and Features | page=3|date=2 May 2005}}</ref>[[File:Miranda Otto 2012.jpg|thumb|200px|Otto at InStyle Women of Style Awards Red Carpet 2012.]]Director [[Steven Spielberg]], impressed by Otto's performance in ''The Lord of the Rings'', called her to ask if she would play opposite [[Tom Cruise]] in the big-budget science fiction film ''[[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (2005). Otto, pregnant at the time, believed she would have to turn down the role, but the script was reworked to accommodate her. After giving birth to her daughter, she took a rest from films to concentrate on motherhood and theatre roles in Australia.<ref name="RightStage"/>


In 2007, Otto starred as Cricket Stewart, the wife of a successful director, in the television miniseries ''[[The Starter Wife (miniseries)|The Starter Wife]]''.<ref>[http://www.usanetwork.com/series/starterwife/theshow/characterprofiles/cricket/index.html "''Starter Wife'' Characters"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010131101/http://www.usanetwork.com/series/starterwife/theshow/characterprofiles/cricket/index.html |date=10 October 2012 }}. [[USA Network]]; retrieved 12 April 2007.</ref> That same year, she was cast in the American television series ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]''. In the series she plays Juliet Draper, a successful female executive who must rely on her friends to juggle the demands of a career and family in New York City.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ida90dc7b5e3c5134e0c14365abce1701 |title= Three Pilots Using 'Sex' Guide |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=9 January 2007 |access-date=12 April 2007}}</ref> Otto chose to star in the series because "American television at the moment is so interesting and, particularly, the characters for women are so fantastic" and she "liked the idea of having a character over a long period of time and developing it."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/01/20/tv-insider-miranda-otto/ |title=TV Insider: Miranda Otto |first=Amy |last=Amatangelo |newspaper=[[Boston Herald]] |date=2018-11-17 |access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref> The series was cancelled in May 2008.<ref>[http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/cashmere-mafia-and-miss-guided-abc-cancels-two-more/ "Cashmere Mafia and Miss Guided: ABC Cancels Two More"]. TVSeriesFinale.com. 12 May 2008; retrieved 22 October 2009.</ref>
Impressed by her performance in ''The Lord of the Rings'', Otto received a phone call from director [[Steven Spielberg]] asking if she would play opposite [[Tom Cruise]] in the big-budget [[science fiction]] film ''[[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' (2005). Otto, pregnant at the time, believed she would have to turn down the role, but the script was reworked to accommodate her.<ref name="RightStage" /> After the birth of her daughter in 2005, Otto took a rest from films to concentrate on motherhood and theatre roles in Australia.<ref name="RightStage" />


In 2013 Otto played the role of American poet Elizabeth Bishop in Brazilian director [[Bruno Barreto]]’s ''Reaching for the Moon.''<ref>{{cite news |last=Hawker |first=Philippa |date=9 July 2014 |title=Miranda Otto on Reaching for the Moon: 'I find it easy to play uptight characters' |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/miranda-otto-on-reaching-for-the-moon-i-find-it-easy-to-play-uptight-characters-20140709-zt0yl.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=5 August 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812191904/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/miranda-otto-on-reaching-for-the-moon-i-find-it-easy-to-play-uptight-characters-20140709-zt0yl.html |archive-date=12 August 2014}}</ref>
In 2007, Otto starred as Cricket Stewart, the wife of a successful director, in the television miniseries ''[[The Starter Wife]]''.<ref>[http://www.usanetwork.com/series/starterwife/theshow/characterprofiles/cricket/index.html ''Starter Wife'' Characters], [[USA Network]]. Retrieved [[April 12]], [[2007]].</ref> That same year, she was cast in the [[United States|American]] [[Television program|television series]] ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]''. In the series she plays Juliet Draper, a successful female executive who must rely on her friends to juggle the demands of a career and family in [[New York City]].<ref>Andreeva, Nellie (January 9, 2007), [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ida90dc7b5e3c5134e0c14365abce1701 "Three Pilots Using 'Sex' Guide"], ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]''. Retrieved [[April 12]], [[2007]].</ref> Otto chose to star in the series because "American television at the moment is so interesting and, particularly, the characters for women are so fantastic" and she "liked the idea of having a character over a long period of time and developing it."<ref>Amatangelo, Amy (January 12, 2008), [http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?articleid=1067689 "TV Insider: Miranda Otto"], ''[[Boston Herald]]''. Retrieved [[January 20]], [[2008]].</ref>
[[File:Cannes 2014 6.jpg|left|thumb|266x266px|Otto (far left) at [[Cannes Film Festival]] 2014]]
Otto starred opposite [[Stephanie Sigman]] and [[Anthony LaPaglia]] in the horror prequel ''[[Annabelle: Creation]]'', directed by [[David F. Sandberg]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/stephanie-sigman-annabelle-2-spectre-1201801416/ |title='Spectre' Actress Stephanie Sigman to Star in 'Annabelle' Sequel |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |first=Justin |last=Kroll |date=22 June 2016 |access-date=22 June 2016}}</ref> The film was released on 12 August 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/ben-affleck-live-by-night-release-date-annabelle-2-1201736057/ |title=Ben Affleck's Crime Drama 'Live by Night,' 3 More Warner Bros. Films Dated for 2017 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |first=Dave |last=McNary |date=22 March 2016 |access-date=22 June 2016}}</ref> She portrayed [[Zelda Spellman]] in Netflix's ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV series)|Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]'' (2018–2020).<ref>{{cite news |last=Otterson |first=Joe |title=Netflix's 'Sabrina' Series Casts 'Lord of the Rings' Alum Miranda Otto |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/netflix-sabrina-the-teenage-witch-series-aunt-zelda-miranda-otto-1202705766/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=20 February 2018 |date=20 February 2018}}</ref>

On 31 May 2020, Otto joined [[Josh Gad]]'s [[YouTube]] series ''Reunited Apart'', which reunites the cast of popular films through video-conferencing and promotes donations to non-profit charities, with her fellow ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|Lord of the Rings]]'' cast and crew members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-josh-gad-reunites-stars-of-lord-of-the-rings-while-raising-money-for-kids-in-need/|title=Actor Josh Gad reunites stars of "Lord of the Rings" while raising money for kids in need|website=[[CBS News]] }}</ref>
[[File:Miranda Otto 3, 2012.jpg|thumb|210x210px|Otto at The Ivy Ballroom in 2013]]

On 13 November 2023, Otto was announced for ABC drama series ''Ladies In Black.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knox |first=David |date=2023-11-13 |title=Cast announced for Ladies in Black {{!}} TV Tonight |url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2023/11/cast-announced-for-ladies-in-black.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=tvtonight.com.au |language=en-AU}}</ref> In 2024, Otto reprised her role as [[Éowyn]] from [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film series]] in the [[anime]] [[fantasy film]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim]]'', a [[prequel]] directed by [[Kenji Kamiyama]], to which she served as the [[narrator]].<ref name="Rohirrim" />


===Theatre===
===Theatre===
Otto made her [[Theatre|theatrical]] debut in the 1986 production of ''The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant'' for the [[Sydney Theatre Company]].<ref>[http://www.inmyfathersden.com/cast.html#miranda Cast Biographies], inmyfathersden.com. Retrieved [[April 12]], [[2007]].</ref> Three more theatrical productions for the Sydney Theatre Company followed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2002, she returned to the stage playing Nora Helmer in ''[[A Doll's House]]'' opposite her future husband Peter O'Brien. Otto's performance earned her a 2003 [[Helpmann Award]] nomination and the MO Award for "Best Female Actor in a Play".<ref>[http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/ottom/a-act.html Miranda Otto CV at PFD], pfd.co.uk. Retrieved [[May 29]], [[2007]].</ref>
Otto made her [[Theatre|theatrical]] debut in the 1986 production of ''The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant'' for the [[Sydney Theatre Company]].<ref>[http://www.inmyfathersden.com/cast.html#miranda "Cast Biographies"]. InMyFathersDen.com. Retrieved 12 April 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070414144351/http://www.inmyfathersden.com/cast.html#miranda |date=14 April 2007 }}</ref> Three more theatrical productions for the Sydney Theatre Company followed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2002, she returned to the stage playing Nora Helmer in ''[[A Doll's House]]'' opposite her future husband Peter O'Brien. Otto's performance earned her a 2003 [[Helpmann Award]] nomination and the MO Award for "Best Female Actor in a Play".<ref>[http://unitedagents.co.uk/film/miranda-otto "Miranda Otto CV"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714024337/http://unitedagents.co.uk/film/miranda-otto/ |date=14 July 2009 }}. UnitedAgents.co.uk; retrieved 30 October 2008.</ref>


Her next theatre role was in the [[psychological thriller]] ''[[Boy Gets Girl]]'' (2005), in which she played Theresa, a journalist for a [[New York]] magazine. Otto committed to the project days before she found out she was pregnant. Robyn Nevin, the director, rescheduled the production from December 2004 to September 2005 so Otto could appear in it.<ref name="RightStage" /> In 2005, Nevin began pre-production on a play that she commissioned especially for Otto.<ref name="RightStage" />
Her next stage role was in the [[psychological thriller]] ''[[Boy Gets Girl]]'' (2005), in which she played Theresa, a journalist for a New York magazine. Otto committed to the project days before she found out she was pregnant. Robyn Nevin, the director, rescheduled the production from December 2004 to September 2005 so that Otto could appear in it.<ref name="RightStage" />


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
On 1 January 2003,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/01/1041196690529.html |title=Miranda Otto marries in cathedral lock-out |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |agency=[[Australian Associated Press]] |date=2003-01-02 |access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref> she married actor [[Peter O'Brien (actor)|Peter O'Brien]], after the two met while performing in ''[[A Doll's House]]''.<ref name=Tribute>{{cite news |url=http://www.tribute.ca/bio.asp?id=7797 |title=Miranda Otto biography |author=Staff writers |work=[[Tribute (magazine)|Tribute]] |date=2019-08-05 |access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref> Otto and O'Brien have one child, a daughter.<ref name=Tribute/> After the birth of her daughter, Otto limited her work to spend more time with her family at their home in Australia.<ref name="BalancingAct"/>
In 1997, Otto began dating actor [[Richard Roxburgh]], whom she met while filming ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline''. Their relationship ended in 2000, reportedly because they had spent too little time together due to their busy acting schedules.<ref name="serene" />

On [[January 1]], [[2003]], she married actor [[Peter O'Brien]], after the two had met while performing in ''[[A Doll's House]]''.<ref>[http://www.tribute.ca/bio.asp?id=7797 Star Bios: Miranda Otto], tribute.ca. Retrieved [[April 8]], [[2007]].</ref> Otto and O'Brien have one child, a daughter Darcey (b. 2005). Since the birth of her daughter, Otto has limited her work so she can spend time with her family at their home in Australia.<ref name="BalancingAct" />


==Filmography==
Otto's avoidance of the spotlight is a result of the tabloid and media attention she received while dating Roxburgh. In a 2004 interview, Otto stated that she hopes she will never be as famous as fellow Australian actress [[Nicole Kidman]] because she believes that she "could never deal with that."<ref>January 2004, [http://miranda-otto.com/2004now.php "The Lord Of The Rings Star Miranda Otto Hopes She'll Never Be as Famous as Fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman"], ''Now Magazine''. Retrieved [[April 8]], [[2007]].</ref>


===Film===
==Filmography and awards==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
! Year
! Year !! Film !! Role !! Other notes and awards
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|-
| 1986
| 1986 || ''[[Emma's War]]'' || Emma Grange || &nbsp;
| ''[[Emma's War (film)|Emma's War]]''
| Emma Grange
|
|-
|-
| 1987
| 1987 || ''Initiation'' || Stevie || &nbsp;
| ''[[Initiation (1987 film)|Initiation]]''
| Stevie
|
|-
|-
| 1988
| 1988 || ''The 13th Floor'' || Rebecca || &nbsp;
| ''[[The 13th Floor (1988 film)|The 13th Floor]]''
| Rebecca
|
|-
|-
| 1992
| 1991 || ''[[The Girl Who Came Late]]'' || Nell Tiscowitz || [[Australian Film Institute]] nomination
| ''[[The Girl Who Came Late|Daydream Believer]]''
| Nell Tiscowitz
| Nominated—[[Australian Film Institute]] Award for Best Actress
|-
|-
| 1992
| rowspan=2|1992 || ''Heroes II: The Return'' || Roma Page || Television film
| ''[[The Last Days of Chez Nous]]''
| Annie
| Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress<br/>Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Female Supporting Actor
|-
|-
| 1993
|''[[The Last Days of Chez Nous]]'' || Annie || Australian Film Institute nomination
| ''[[The Nostradamus Kid]]''
| Jennie O'Brien
|
|-
|-
| 1995
| 1993 || ''[[The Nostradamus Kid]]'' || Jennie O'Brien || &nbsp;
| ''[[Sex Is a Four Letter Word]]''
| Viv
|
|-
|-
| 1996
| 1995 || ''Sex Is a Four Letter Word'' || Viv || &nbsp;
| ''[[Love Serenade]]''
| Dimity Hurley
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=3|1997
| 1996 || ''[[Love Serenade]]'' || Dimity Hurley || &nbsp;
| ''[[The Well (1997 film)|The Well]]''
| Katherine
| Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress<br/>Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Female Actor
|-
|-
| ''[[True Love and Chaos]]''
| rowspan=3|1997 || ''[[The Well (1997 film)|The Well]]'' || Katherine || Australian Film Institute nomination; Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards nomination
| Mimi
|
|-
|-
| ''[[Doing Time for Patsy Cline]]''
|''True Love and Chaos'' || Mimi || &nbsp;
| Patsy Cline
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=3|1998
| ''[[Doing Time for Patsy Cline]]'' || Patsy || &nbsp;
| ''[[Dead Letter Office (film)|Dead Letter Office]]''
| Alice Walsh
| Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Female Actor
|-
|-
| ''[[In the Winter Dark (film)|In the Winter Dark]]''
| rowspan=3|1998 || ''Dead Letter Office'' || Alice Walsh || Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards nomination
| Ronnie
| Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
|-
| ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]''
|''In the Winter Dark'' || Ronnie || Australian Film Institute nomination
| Marty Bell
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2|2000
| ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]'' || Marty Bell || &nbsp;
| ''Kin''
| Anna
|
|-
|-
| ''[[What Lies Beneath]]''
| 1999 || ''[[The Jack Bull]]'' || Cora Redding || Television film
| Mary Feur
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2| 2000 || ''Kin'' || Anna || &nbsp;
| rowspan=2|2001
| ''The Three-Legged Fox''
| Ruth
|
|-
|-
| ''[[Human Nature (2001 film)|Human Nature]]''
| ''[[What Lies Beneath]]'' || Mary Feur || &nbsp;
| Gabrielle
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
| rowspan=3| 2001 || ''La Volpe a tre zampe'' || Ruth || Filmed in [[Italian language|Italian]]
| ''[[Close Your Eyes (2002 film)|Close Your Eyes]]''
| Clara Strother
|
|-
|-
| ''[[Julie Walking Home]]''
|''[[Human Nature (film)|Human Nature]]'' || Gabrielle || &nbsp;
| Julie
|
|-
|-
| ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]''
| ''[[The Way We Live Now]]'' || Mrs. Hurtle || Television miniseries
| rowspan=2|[[Éowyn]]
| [[Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast]]<br/>Internet Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress<br/>Internet Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance<br/>Nominated—[[Empire Awards|Empire Award]] for Best Actress<br/>Nominated—[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]]
|-
|-
| rowspan=2|2003
| rowspan=3| 2002 || ''[[Doctor Sleep]]'' || Clara Strother || &nbsp;
| ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]''
| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast]]<br/>Internet Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress<br/>[[National Board of Review Award for Best Cast]]<br/>[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]]<br/>Nominated—International Online Cinema Award for Best Supporting Actress<br/>Nominated—[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress]]<br/>
|-
|-
| ''[[Danny Deckchair]]''
| ''Julie Walking Home'' || Julie || &nbsp;
| Glenda Lake
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2|2004
| ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'' || [[Éowyn]] || &nbsp;
| ''[[In My Father's Den (film)|In My Father's Den]]''
| Penny
|
|-
|-
| ''[[Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film)|Flight of the Phoenix]]''
| rowspan=2| 2003 || ''[[Danny Deckchair]]'' || Glenda Lake || &nbsp;
| Kelly Johnson
|
|-
|-
| 2005
| ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'' || Éowyn || Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nomination
| ''[[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]''
| Mary Ann Ferrier
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2|2009
| rowspan=3| 2004 || ''[[In My Father's Den (film)|In My Father's Den]]'' || Penny || &nbsp;
| ''[[In Her Skin]]''
| Mrs Barber
|
|-
|-
| ''[[Blessed (2009 film)|Blessed]]''
| ''Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story'' || [[Lindy Chamberlain]] || Television miniseries; [[Logie Award]]; Australian Film Institute nomination
| Bianca
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2|2010
| ''[[Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film)|Flight of the Phoenix]]'' || Kelly Johnson || &nbsp;
| ''[[South Solitary]]''
| Meredith Appleton
|
|-
|-
| ''Get It at Goode's''
| 2005 || ''[[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'' || Mary Ann Ferrier || &nbsp;
| Patty Williams
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2|2013
| rowspan=2| 2007 || ''[[The Starter Wife]]'' || Cricket Stewart || Television miniseries
| ''[[Reaching for the Moon (2013 film)|Reaching for the Moon]]''
| [[Elizabeth Bishop]]
|
|-
|-
| ''[[The Turning (2013 film)|The Turning]]''
| ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]'' || Juliet Draper || Television series
| Sherry
|
|-
|-
| rowspan=2| 2014
| 2008 || ''[[In Her Skin]]'' || &nbsp; || ''post-production''
| ''[[I, Frankenstein]]''
| Queen Leonore
|
|-
|-
| ''[[The Homesman]]''
| Theoline Belknapp
|
|-
| 2015
| ''[[The Daughter (2015 film)|The Daughter]]''
| Charlotte Finch
| [[AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
|-
|rowspan=2| 2017
| ''[[Dance Academy: The Movie]]''
| Madeline Moncur
|
|-
| ''[[Annabelle: Creation]]''
| Esther Mullins
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2018
| ''[[Zoe (film)|Zoe]]''
| The Designer
|
|-
| ''[[The Chaperone (2018 film)|The Chaperone]]''
| Ruth St. Dennis
|
|-
| 2019
| ''[[The Silence (2019 film)|The Silence]]''
| Kelly Andrews
|
|-
| 2020
| ''[[Downhill (2020 film)|Downhill]]''
| Charlotte
|
|-
|2022
|[[Talk to Me (2022 film)|''Talk to Me'']]
|Sue
|
|-
|2023
|''[[The Portable Door]]''
|Countess Judy
|
|-
| 2024
| ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim]]''
| [[Éowyn]]
| Also [[narrator]]<ref name="Rohirrim">{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=June 15, 2022 |title='The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim': Anime Voice Cast Counts Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Miranda Otto & More |url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/lord-of-the-rings-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-brian-cox-miranda-otto-1235045883/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615130310/https://deadline.com/2022/06/lord-of-the-rings-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-brian-cox-miranda-otto-1235045883/ |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |access-date=June 25, 2022 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref>
|}
|}


==References==
===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
<!--<nowiki>
! Year
This article uses the Cite.php format. Instructions for adding footnotes:
! Title
After adding an inline citation in the article, add the source inside of Reference tags.
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1988
| ''[[A Country Practice]]''
| Millie Alcott
| TV series, 4 episodes
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Heroes II: The Return]]''
| Roma Page
| TV film
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Police Rescue]]''
| Amanda
| TV series, episode: "On the Outer"
|-
| 1999
| ''[[The Jack Bull]]''
| Cora Redding
| TV film
|-
| 2001
| ''[[The Way We Live Now (2001 TV serial)|The Way We Live Now]]''
| Mrs Hurtle
| Miniseries
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Through My Eyes (TV drama)|Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story]]''
| [[Lindy Chamberlain]]
| Miniseries<br>Silver [[Logie Award]] for Most Outstanding Drama Actress<br/>Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Lead Television Actress
|-
| rowspan=2|2007
| ''[[The Starter Wife (miniseries)|The Starter Wife]]''
| Cricket Stewart
| Miniseries
|-
| ''[[Cashmere Mafia]]''
| Juliet Draper
| TV series, 7 episodes
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries]]''
| Lydia Andrews
| TV series, episode: "Cocaine Blues"
|-
| 2014
| ''[[Rake (U.S. TV series)|Rake]]''
| Maddy Deane
| TV series, 13 episodes
|-
| 2015
| ''[[Homeland (TV series)|Homeland]]''
| [[List of Homeland characters#Allison Carr|Allison Carr]]
| TV series, 12 episodes <br>Nominated—[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series]]
|-
| 2017
| ''[[24: Legacy]]''
| Rebecca Ingram
| TV series, 12 episodes
|-
| 2018–2020
| ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV series)|Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]''
| [[Zelda Spellman]]
| TV series, Main cast
|-
|rowspan=2|2021
| ''[[The Unusual Suspects (miniseries)|The Unusual Suspects]]''
| Sara Beasley
| Miniseries, main cast
|-
| ''[[Fires (TV series)|Fires]]''
| Kath Simpson
| TV series, 2 episodes
|-
| 2022
| ''[[True Colours (Australian TV series)|True Colours]]''
| Isabelle Martin
| TV series, main cast
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2023
| ''[[Koala Man]]''
| Mindy (voice)
| TV series, episode: "Hot Christmas"
|-
| ''[[The Clearing (TV series)|The Clearing]]''
| Adrienne
| TV series, 8 episodes
|-
| ''[[Wellmania]]''
| Camille Lavigne
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| rowspan="2" |2024
|''Ladies In Black''
|Virginia Ambrose
|TV series: 6 episodes
|-
|''[[Thou Shalt Not Steal (TV series)|Thou Shall Not Steal]]''
|Maxine
|TV series
|}


===Television (as self)===
Example: <ref>Author. "[http://URL.com Story name]". Publication. Date. Date Retrieved.</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Midday (Australian TV program)|Midday with Kerri-Anne]]''
| Herself – Guest
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 1997; 1998
| ''[[The Movie Show]]''
| Herself - Guest
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 1997
| ''Monday to Friday''
| Herself – Guest
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 1998; 2002
| ''[[The Movie Show]]''
| Herself - Guest
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 2002
| ''[[The Movie Show]]''
| Herself – Guest (from [[Venice Film Festival]])
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 2023; 2024
| ''[[News Breakfast]]''
| Herself - Guest
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 2023
| ''[[The Project (Australian TV program)|The Project]]''
| Herself - Guest (with [[Teresa Palmer]])
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
| 2024
| ''[[News Breakfast]]''
| Herself & Gracie Otto
| TV series, 1 episode
|-
|2024
|''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (Australian TV series)|Who Do You Think You Are?]]''
|Herself
|TV series, 1 episode
|}


==Theatre==
The reference will then add itself to the footnote section.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
</nowiki>-->
! Year
{{reflist|2}}
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1986 || ''[[The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (opera)|The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant]]'' || || [[Wharf Theatre|Wharf Studio Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 1986 || ''[[The Real Thing (play)|The Real Thing]]'' || || Playhouse Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company
|-
| 1991 || ''Sixteen Words for Water'' || Betsy || [[Wharf Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 1992 || ''Time and the Room'' || Sleep Woman || [[Wharf Theatre|Wharf Studio Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 1992 || ''The Girl Who Saw Everything'' || Edwina Rouse || [[Wharf Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 1993 || ''Brilliant Lies'' || Susy || Suncorp Theatre, [[Arts Centre Melbourne|Playhouse Melbourne]], [[Monash University]], [[Royal South Street Eisteddfod|Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat]], Ford Theatre Geelong, West Gippsland Arts Centre, [[Theatre Royal, Hobart]], Playhouse Adelaide, [[Sydney Opera House]], [[Canberra Theatre Centre|Canberra Theatre]] with [[Queensland Theatre|Queensland Theatre Company]]
|-
| 1995 || ''[[Gigi (play)|Gigi]]'' || Gigi || Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane with [[Queensland Theatre|Queensland Theatre Company]]
|-
| 2002 || ''[[A Doll’s House]]'' || Nora Helmer || [[Wharf Theatre|Wharf 1 Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 2002 || ''Hanging Man'' || Casting Director || [[Wharf Theatre|Wharf 2 Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 2005 || ''[[Boy Gets Girl]]'' || Theresa Bedell || [[Wharf Theatre|Wharf 1 Theatre]] with [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|-
| 2011 || ''The White Guard'' || Lena || [[Sydney Theatre Company]]
|}
<ref> https://shanahan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/OTTO-Miranda-110822.pdf </ref><ref> https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/231699 </ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 100%; background: #f9f9f9"
! Year
! Awards
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
| rowspan=2|1992
| rowspan=2|[[Australian Film Institute]]
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| ''[[The Girl Who Came Late]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| rowspan=2|''[[The Last Days of Chez Nous]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| 1993
| rowspan=2|[[Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards]]
| Best Supporting Actor – Female
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| 1996
| Best Actor – Female
| ''[[Love Serenade]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| 1997
| rowspan=2|[[Australian Film Institute]]
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
| ''[[The Well (1997 film)|The Well]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| rowspan=2|1998
| Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
| ''[[In the Winter Dark (film)|In the Winter Dark]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| rowspan=2|[[Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards]]
| Best Actor – Female
| ''[[The Well (1997 film)|The Well]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| rowspan=2|1999
| Best Actor – Female
| ''[[Dead Letter Office (film)|Dead Letter Office]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Satellite Awards]]
| Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble
| ''[[The Thin Red Line (1998 film)|The Thin Red Line]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
| 2002
| Awards Circuit Community Awards
| Best Cast Ensemble
| rowspan=6|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| rowspan=12|2003
| [[Empire Awards]]
| Best Actress
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Gold Derby]]
| Ensemble Cast
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Online Film Critics Society Awards]]
| Best Ensemble
| {{Won}}
|-
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
| Best Acting Ensemble
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
| Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| Newport Beach Film Festival
| Best Actress
| ''[[Julie Walking Home]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[Helpmann Award]]
| Best Female Actor in a Play
| rowspan=2|''[[A Doll's House]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Mo Awards]]
| Best Female Actor in a Play
| {{Won}}
|-
| Awards Circuit Community Awards
| Best Cast Ensemble
| rowspan=10|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[DVD Exclusive Awards]]
| Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD)
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Golden Schmoes Awards]]
| Best Supporting Actress of the Year
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review]]
| Best Acting by an Ensemble
| {{Won}}
|-
| rowspan=6|2004
| [[Saturn Awards]]
| Best Supporting Actress
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Awards]]
| Best Acting Ensemble
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[Gold Derby]]
| Ensemble Cast
| {{Won}}
|-
| International Online Cinema Awards
| Best Supporting Actress
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
| Best Ensemble Acting
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
| {{Won}}
|-
| rowspan=2|2005
| [[Logie Awards]]
| Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
| rowspan=2|''[[Through My Eyes (miniseries)|Through My Eyes]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
| [[Australian Film Institute]]
| Best Lead Actress in Television
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| rowspan=2|2011
| [[Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards]]
| Best Actor – Female
| ''[[South Solitary]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| InStyle Women Of Style Award
| Arts & Culture
|
| {{Won}}
|-
| 2012
| [[Helpmann Award]]
| Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Play
| ''[[The White Guard]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| 2014
| [[Women Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| Best Ensemble Cast
| ''[[The Homesman]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
| rowspan=2|2016
| [[Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
| ''[[Homeland (TV series)|Homeland]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[AACTA Award]]
| Best Supporting Actress
| rowspan=3|''[[The Daughter (2015 film)|The Daughter]]''
| {{Won}}
|-
| rowspan=2|2017
| [[Australian Film Critics Association]]
| Best Supporting Actress
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards]]
| Best Actress – Supporting Role
| {{Won}}
|-
| rowspan=1|2021
| [[AACTA Award]]
| Best Lead Actress in a Drama
| ''[[Fires (TV series)|Fires]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Miranda Otto}}
<!-- please, no fansites. we have a Google directory link. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EL -->
* {{IMDb name|0001584}}
{{commons|Miranda Otto}}
<!--please no fan sites. we have a Google directory link, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EL-->
{{wikiquote}}
* {{imdb name|id=0001584|name=Miranda Otto}}


{{AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role}}
{{featured article}}


{{Authority control}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME = Otto, Miranda
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian actress
|DATE OF BIRTH = [[16 December]] [[1967]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]]
|DATE OF DEATH =
|PLACE OF DEATH =
}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Miranda}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Miranda}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Australian film actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian actresses]]
[[Category:Australian stage actors]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Brisbane]]
[[Category:Actresses from New South Wales]]
[[Category:Australian film actresses]]
[[Category:Australian stage actresses]]
[[Category:Australian television actresses]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Brisbane]]
[[Category:Logie Award winners]]
[[Category:National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni]]

[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners]]
[[ar:ميراندا أوتو]]
[[Category:Actors from Newcastle, New South Wales]]
[[de:Miranda Otto]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actress AACTA Award winners]]
[[es:Miranda Otto]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[fr:Miranda Otto]]
[[it:Miranda Otto]]
[[hu:Miranda Otto]]
[[nl:Miranda Otto]]
[[ja:ミランダ・オットー]]
[[pl:Miranda Otto]]
[[pt:Miranda Otto]]
[[sr:Миранда Ото]]
[[fi:Miranda Otto]]
[[sv:Miranda Otto]]

Latest revision as of 00:57, 11 December 2024

Miranda Otto
Otto at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1967-12-16) 16 December 1967 (age 57)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
EducationNational Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA)
OccupationActress
Years active1986–present
Known forÉowyn in The Lord of the Rings
Spouse
​
(m. 2003)​
Children1
ParentBarry Otto (father)
RelativesGracie Otto (half-sister)

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 1987 in which she played a teenager who moves to Australia's bush country during World War II.[1]

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 playing 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

[edit]

Otto was born on 16 December 1967[2] in Brisbane and was raised there and in Newcastle. She briefly lived in Hong Kong following her parents' divorce at age six.[3] She spent weekends and holidays with her father in Sydney and developed an interest in acting through him.[4]

During her childhood, Otto and her friends wrote scripts and designed costumes and flyers in their spare time.[5] 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.[4]

She had wanted to be a ballerina but was forced to abandon this goal due to moderate scoliosis.[3] Otto graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in 1990.[6] Prior to graduation, she appeared in minor film roles including Initiation (1987) and The 13th Floor (1988).[7]

Career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

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.[8]

Otto's next role was in The Last Days of Chez Nous (1991), 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.[8]

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".[9] A small role in the independent film Sex Is a Four Letter Word followed in 1995.[10]

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.[6] 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.[6] 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."[11] Otto earned her third Australian Film Institute nomination for the film.[8] 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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[8] A small role in The Thin Red Line (1998) led to further film roles outside of Australia,[14] 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"),[15] produced in 2001 and broadcast for the first time on Italian television in March 2009.[16]

Hollywood

[edit]

Otto's first Hollywood role was the suspense thriller What Lies Beneath in 2000. She played Mary Feur, a mysterious next-door neighbour.[17]

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.[18] Critic Jeffrey M. Anderson criticised Otto's French accent and wrote that she "doesn't seem to mesh with what's going on around her".[19]

Also in 2001, Otto appeared in the BBC adaptation of Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now, as a strong-willed American Southerner.[20]

In 1999, Otto was cast as Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, after Uma Thurman turned down the role.[21] Director Peter Jackson cast her immediately after viewing the audition video she had filmed in Australia.[22] For the role, Otto spent six weeks learning stunt choreography and horse riding.[23] Otto's character was introduced in the trilogy's second film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2002 and appeared in the third film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the following year. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a critical and financial success, and the third film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2004.[24] Otto's performance earned her an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Otto at Ring*Con in Germany in 2006

Otto's next project was playing the lead in the Australian film Danny Deckchair (2003). She then took on the Australian television miniseries Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story (2004). The film is a drama that portrays the story of Lindy Chamberlain, who was wrongfully convicted in 1982 of killing her baby daughter, Azaria, in one of the country's most publicized murder trials. Otto was cast as Chamberlain, and her husband, Peter O'Brien, was cast as prosecutor Ian Barker. She was drawn to the role because it provided her with the "prospect of exploring an unconventional character."[25] At the 2005 Logie Awards, Otto won Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her role.[26]

Otto at InStyle Women of Style Awards Red Carpet 2012.

Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by Otto's performance in The Lord of the Rings, called her to ask if she would play opposite Tom Cruise in the big-budget science fiction film War of the Worlds (2005). Otto, pregnant at the time, believed she would have to turn down the role, but the script was reworked to accommodate her. After giving birth to her daughter, she took a rest from films to concentrate on motherhood and theatre roles in Australia.[1]

In 2007, Otto starred as Cricket Stewart, the wife of a successful director, in the television miniseries The Starter Wife.[27] That same year, she was cast in the American television series Cashmere Mafia. In the series she plays Juliet Draper, a successful female executive who must rely on her friends to juggle the demands of a career and family in New York City.[28] Otto chose to star in the series because "American television at the moment is so interesting and, particularly, the characters for women are so fantastic" and she "liked the idea of having a character over a long period of time and developing it."[29] The series was cancelled in May 2008.[30]

In 2013 Otto played the role of American poet Elizabeth Bishop in Brazilian director Bruno Barreto’s Reaching for the Moon.[31]

Otto (far left) at Cannes Film Festival 2014

Otto starred opposite Stephanie Sigman and Anthony LaPaglia in the horror prequel Annabelle: Creation, directed by David F. Sandberg.[32] The film was released on 12 August 2017.[33] She portrayed Zelda Spellman in Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020).[34]

On 31 May 2020, Otto joined Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, which reunites the cast of popular films through video-conferencing and promotes donations to non-profit charities, with her fellow Lord of the Rings cast and crew members.[35]

Otto at The Ivy Ballroom in 2013

On 13 November 2023, Otto was announced for ABC drama series Ladies In Black.[36] In 2024, Otto reprised her role as Éowyn from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series in the anime fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, a prequel directed by Kenji Kamiyama, to which she served as the narrator.[37]

Theatre

[edit]

Otto made her theatrical debut in the 1986 production of The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant for the Sydney Theatre Company.[38] Three more theatrical productions for the Sydney Theatre Company followed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2002, she returned to the stage playing Nora Helmer in A Doll's House opposite her future husband Peter O'Brien. Otto's performance earned her a 2003 Helpmann Award nomination and the MO Award for "Best Female Actor in a Play".[39]

Her next stage role was in the psychological thriller Boy Gets Girl (2005), in which she played Theresa, a journalist for a New York magazine. Otto committed to the project days before she found out she was pregnant. Robyn Nevin, the director, rescheduled the production from December 2004 to September 2005 so that Otto could appear in it.[1]

Personal life

[edit]

On 1 January 2003,[40] she married actor Peter O'Brien, after the two met while performing in A Doll's House.[41] Otto and O'Brien have one child, a daughter.[41] After the birth of her daughter, Otto limited her work to spend more time with her family at their home in Australia.[3]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1986 Emma's War Emma Grange
1987 Initiation Stevie
1988 The 13th Floor Rebecca
1992 Daydream Believer Nell Tiscowitz Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress
1992 The Last Days of Chez Nous Annie Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Female Supporting Actor
1993 The Nostradamus Kid Jennie O'Brien
1995 Sex Is a Four Letter Word Viv
1996 Love Serenade Dimity Hurley
1997 The Well Katherine Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Female Actor
True Love and Chaos Mimi
Doing Time for Patsy Cline Patsy Cline
1998 Dead Letter Office Alice Walsh Nominated—Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Female Actor
In the Winter Dark Ronnie Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Thin Red Line Marty Bell
2000 Kin Anna
What Lies Beneath Mary Feur
2001 The Three-Legged Fox Ruth
Human Nature Gabrielle
2002 Close Your Eyes Clara Strother
Julie Walking Home Julie
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Éowyn Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Internet Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress
Internet Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance
Nominated—Empire Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Internet Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—International Online Cinema Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
Danny Deckchair Glenda Lake
2004 In My Father's Den Penny
Flight of the Phoenix Kelly Johnson
2005 War of the Worlds Mary Ann Ferrier
2009 In Her Skin Mrs Barber
Blessed Bianca
2010 South Solitary Meredith Appleton
Get It at Goode's Patty Williams
2013 Reaching for the Moon Elizabeth Bishop
The Turning Sherry
2014 I, Frankenstein Queen Leonore
The Homesman Theoline Belknapp
2015 The Daughter Charlotte Finch AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2017 Dance Academy: The Movie Madeline Moncur
Annabelle: Creation Esther Mullins
2018 Zoe The Designer
The Chaperone Ruth St. Dennis
2019 The Silence Kelly Andrews
2020 Downhill Charlotte
2022 Talk to Me Sue
2023 The Portable Door Countess Judy
2024 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Éowyn Also narrator[37]

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1988 A Country Practice Millie Alcott TV series, 4 episodes
1992 Heroes II: The Return Roma Page TV film
1995 Police Rescue Amanda TV series, episode: "On the Outer"
1999 The Jack Bull Cora Redding TV film
2001 The Way We Live Now Mrs Hurtle Miniseries
2004 Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story Lindy Chamberlain Miniseries
Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Drama Actress
Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Lead Television Actress
2007 The Starter Wife Cricket Stewart Miniseries
Cashmere Mafia Juliet Draper TV series, 7 episodes
2012 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Lydia Andrews TV series, episode: "Cocaine Blues"
2014 Rake Maddy Deane TV series, 13 episodes
2015 Homeland Allison Carr TV series, 12 episodes
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2017 24: Legacy Rebecca Ingram TV series, 12 episodes
2018–2020 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Zelda Spellman TV series, Main cast
2021 The Unusual Suspects Sara Beasley Miniseries, main cast
Fires Kath Simpson TV series, 2 episodes
2022 True Colours Isabelle Martin TV series, main cast
2023 Koala Man Mindy (voice) TV series, episode: "Hot Christmas"
The Clearing Adrienne TV series, 8 episodes
Wellmania Camille Lavigne TV series, 1 episode
2024 Ladies In Black Virginia Ambrose TV series: 6 episodes
Thou Shall Not Steal Maxine TV series

Television (as self)

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Midday with Kerri-Anne Herself – Guest TV series, 1 episode
1997; 1998 The Movie Show Herself - Guest TV series, 1 episode
1997 Monday to Friday Herself – Guest TV series, 1 episode
1998; 2002 The Movie Show Herself - Guest TV series, 1 episode
2002 The Movie Show Herself – Guest (from Venice Film Festival) TV series, 1 episode
2023; 2024 News Breakfast Herself - Guest TV series, 1 episode
2023 The Project Herself - Guest (with Teresa Palmer) TV series, 1 episode
2024 News Breakfast Herself & Gracie Otto TV series, 1 episode
2024 Who Do You Think You Are? Herself TV series, 1 episode

Theatre

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant Wharf Studio Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1986 The Real Thing Playhouse Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company
1991 Sixteen Words for Water Betsy Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1992 Time and the Room Sleep Woman Wharf Studio Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1992 The Girl Who Saw Everything Edwina Rouse Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1993 Brilliant Lies Susy Suncorp Theatre, Playhouse Melbourne, Monash University, Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat, Ford Theatre Geelong, West Gippsland Arts Centre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Playhouse Adelaide, Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre with Queensland Theatre Company
1995 Gigi Gigi Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane with Queensland Theatre Company
2002 A Doll’s House Nora Helmer Wharf 1 Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2002 Hanging Man Casting Director Wharf 2 Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2005 Boy Gets Girl Theresa Bedell Wharf 1 Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2011 The White Guard Lena Sydney Theatre Company

[42][43]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Awards Category Nominated work Result
1992 Australian Film Institute Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Girl Who Came Late Nominated
Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Last Days of Chez Nous Nominated
1993 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards Best Supporting Actor – Female Nominated
1996 Best Actor – Female Love Serenade Nominated
1997 Australian Film Institute Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role The Well Nominated
1998 Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role In the Winter Dark Nominated
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards Best Actor – Female The Well Nominated
1999 Best Actor – Female Dead Letter Office Nominated
Satellite Awards Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble The Thin Red Line Won
2002 Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Cast Ensemble The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Nominated
2003 Empire Awards Best Actress Nominated
Gold Derby Ensemble Cast Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Ensemble Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Acting Ensemble Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture Nominated
Newport Beach Film Festival Best Actress Julie Walking Home Won
Helpmann Award Best Female Actor in a Play A Doll's House Nominated
Mo Awards Best Female Actor in a Play Won
Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Cast Ensemble The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Won
DVD Exclusive Awards Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) Nominated
Golden Schmoes Awards Best Supporting Actress of the Year Nominated
National Board of Review Best Acting by an Ensemble Won
2004 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Acting Ensemble Won
Gold Derby Ensemble Cast Won
International Online Cinema Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Ensemble Acting Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Won
2005 Logie Awards Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Through My Eyes Won
Australian Film Institute Best Lead Actress in Television Nominated
2011 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards Best Actor – Female South Solitary Nominated
InStyle Women Of Style Award Arts & Culture Won
2012 Helpmann Award Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Play The White Guard Nominated
2014 Women Film Critics Circle Awards Best Ensemble Cast The Homesman Won
2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Homeland Nominated
AACTA Award Best Supporting Actress The Daughter Won
2017 Australian Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards Best Actress – Supporting Role Won
2021 AACTA Award Best Lead Actress in a Drama Fires Nominated

References

[edit]
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  5. ^ Williams, Sue. "Doing It Her Way" Archived 26 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine. The Australian Women's Weekly. July 2003; retrieved 6 April 2007.
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  32. ^ Kroll, Justin (22 June 2016). "'Spectre' Actress Stephanie Sigman to Star in 'Annabelle' Sequel". Variety. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  33. ^ McNary, Dave (22 March 2016). "Ben Affleck's Crime Drama 'Live by Night,' 3 More Warner Bros. Films Dated for 2017". Variety. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
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  36. ^ Knox, David (13 November 2023). "Cast announced for Ladies in Black | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
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  43. ^ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/231699
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