Miranda Otto

Miranda Otto Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: December 16, 1967

Age: 56 years old

Birth Place: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Parents: Barry Otto

A crimson-haired Aussie with a girl-next-door smile who is the daughter of prolific Australian actor Barry Otto, Miranda Otto cut her teeth on the stage after graduating from the prestigious theatrical school NIDA (which boasts alumnae including Mel Gibson, Judy Davis and Cate Blanchett) and went on to appear in a spate of Australian films beginning in 1986 with an appearance as the title character in "Emma's War." She subsequently earned Australian Film Institute award nominations for her work in Gillian Anderson's "The Last Days of Chez Nous" (1992), along with "The Well" (1997) and "In The Winter Dark" (1998).

She also received an Australian Film Critics Circle Award nominations for her performance in "The Last Days of Chez Nous," and "Love Serenade" (1996), which won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Making her American debut in "The Thin Red Line" (1998), director Terrence Malick's Oscar-nomionated meditation on war, Otto quickly caught the attention of Hollywood filmmakers and the actress snared high-profile supporting roles in the HBO Western telepic "The Jack Bull" (1999) opposite John Cusack, and director Robert Zemeckis' "What Lies Beneath" (2000) opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford.

But by far her biggest international exposure came when she joined the ensemble of director Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, bowing as beautiful, battle-ready Eowyn in the second instalment, "The Two Towers" (2002) and returning for the finale, "The Return of the King" (2003). In between, she appeared opposite Rhys Ifans in writer-director Jeff Balsmeyer's offbeat Australian film "Danny Deckchair" (2003), a tale inspired by a true story, as a female parking officer who falls for a man who lands in har yard after taking to the sky in a lawnchair tied to balloons.

Next for Otto was the New Zealand-made mystery "In My Father's Den" (2004) and then she headlined the Aussie TV miniseries "Through My Eyes" (2004) as Lindy Chamberlain, the real-life woman suspected in her baby's disappearance after she claimed a dingo carried the child off (the inspiration for the Meryl Streep film "A Cry in the Dark"). Back in Hollywood, she starred opposite Dennis Quaid in the remake of "Flight of the Phoenix" (2004) as an oil engineer among the survivors of a downed military aircraft.

Then it was on to a brief but effective role as Tom Cruise's ex-wife in Steven Spielberg's remake of the sci-fi classic "War of the Worlds" (2005). Otto settled into a steady career as a character actress in both film and television, appearing in soapy miniseries "The Starter Wife" (USA 2007), Darren Star's short-lived "Cashmere Mafia" (ABC 2008), and the American version of popular Australian legal comedy-drama "Rake" (Fox 2014) as well as Australian dramas "In Her Skin" (2009), "Blessed" (2009) and "South Solitary" (2010).

Brazilian drama "Reaching for the Moon" (2013), Tim Winton anthology "The Turning" (2013) and science fiction fantasy "I, Frankenstein" (2014) followed, along with a supporting role in Tommy Lee Jones' Western drama "The Homesman" (2014). Otto's supporting role opposite Geoffrey Rush in "The Daughter" (2015) won her an AATCA Award in her native country, which she followed with key roles in a season each of espionage drama "Homeland" (Showtime 2011- ) and "24: Legacy" (Fox 2017).

After appearing in supernatural horror "Annabelle: Creation" (2017) and science fiction romance "Zoe" (2017), Otto returned to series television as Aunt Zelda on "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" (Netflix 2018- ).

Credits

Ladies In Black

Actor
Virgina Ambrose
Show
2024

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Voice
Éowyn
Movie
2024

My Freaky Family

Actor
Movie
2024

The ClearingStream

Actor
Adrienne
Series
2023
90%

The Portable DoorStream

Actor
Countess Judy
Movie
2023
81%

True ColoursStream

Actor
Isabelle Martin
Series
2022

Talk to MeStream

Actor
Sue
Movie
2022
94%

Talk to MeStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2022
94%

At the Gates

Actor
Marianne Barris
Movie
2022

Fires

Actor
Show
2021

The Moth Effect

Actor
Show
2021

The Unusual Suspects

Actor
Sara
Show
2021

DownhillStream

Actor
Charlotte
Movie
2020
36%

The Silence

Actor
Kelly Andrews
Movie
2019

Chilling Adventures of SabrinaStream

Actor
Zelda Spellman
Series
2018
82%

Zoe

Actor
The Designer
Movie
2018

The ChaperoneStream

Actor
Ruth St. Dennis
Movie
2018
47%

24: LegacyStream

Actor
Rebecca Ingram
Series
2017
60%

Annabelle: CreationStream

Actor
Esther Mullins
Movie
2017
70%

24: Legacy: Extras

Actor
Show
2016

Tim Winton's The Turning

Actor
Sherry
Show
2016

The Daughter

Actor
Charlotte
Movie
2015

Rake

Actor
Maddy Deane
Show
2014

The HomesmanStream

Actor
Theoline Belknap
Movie
2014
81%

I, FrankensteinStream

Actor
Leonore
Movie
2014
5%

Through My Eyes

Actor
Lindy Chamberlain
Show
2013

The Turning

Actor
Sherry
Movie
2013

Reaching for the Moon

Actor
Elizabeth Bishop
Movie
2013

Miss Fisher's Murder MysteriesStream

Guest Star
Lydia Andrews
Series
2012

HomelandStream

Actor
Alison Carr
Series
2011
85%

Dance Academy

Actor
Madeline Moncur
Show
2011

The TalkStream

Guest
Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

South Solitary

Actor
Meredith Appleton
Movie
2010

The Project

Guest
Show
2009

In Her Skin

Actor
Elizabeth Barber
Movie
2009

Blessed

Actor
Bianca
Movie
2009

Cashmere Mafia

Actor
Juliet Draper
Show
2008

The Starter Wife

Actor
Cricket Stewart
Show
2007

War of the WorldsStream

Actor
Mary Ann
Movie
2005
76%

In My Father's Den

Actor
Penny Prior
Movie
2004

Flight of the Phoenix

Actor
Kelly
Movie
2004

Lord of Rings 3

Actor
Movie
2003

Hypnotic

Actor
Clara Strother
Movie
2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingStream

Actor
Eowyn of Rohan
Movie
2003
94%

Danny Deckchair

Actor
Glenda Lake
Movie
2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersStream

Actor
Éowyn
Movie
2002
95%

Julie Walking Home

Actor
Julie
Movie
2002

La volpe a tre Zampe

Actor
Ruth
Movie
2001

Human NatureStream

Actor
Gabrielle
Movie
2001
48%

What Lies BeneathStream

Actor
Mary Feur
Movie
2000
47%

Kin

Actor
Anna
Movie
2000

The Jack Bull

Actor
Cora Redding
Movie
1999

In the Winter Dark

Actor
Ronnie
Movie
1998

Dead Letter Office

Actor
Alice Walsh
Movie
1998

The Thin Red LineStream

Actor
Marty Bell
Movie
1998
80%

Correo Perdido

Actor
Movie
1998

The Well

Actor
Katherine
Movie
1997

Doing Time for Patsy Cline

Actor
Patsy
Movie
1997

True Love and Chaos

Actor
Mimi
Movie
1997

Love Serenade

Actor
Dimity Hurley
Movie
1996

The Nostradamus Kid

Actor
Jennie O'Brien
Movie
1993

Nuestros Últimos Días

Actor
Movie
1992

The Last Days of Chez Nous

Actor
Annie
Movie
1992

The Girl Who Came Late

Actor
Nell Tiscowitz
Movie
1991

Heroes II: The Return

Actor
Roma Page
Movie
1991

Daydream Believer

Actor
Nell Tiscowitz
Movie
1990

The 13th Floor

Actor
Rebecca
Movie
1989

Almas en Soledad

Actor
Movie
1986

Emma's War

Actor
Emma Grange
Movie
1986

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