Tom Hiddleston trekked to Everest base camp for Tenzing
Tom Hiddleston trekked to the Mount Everest base camp to gain some experience before playing climber Edmund Hillary in new movie Tenzing.
Tom Hiddleston trekked to the Mount Everest base camp to help him tackle the role of Edmund Hillary in new movie Tenzing.
The Thor star signed up to play the famed mountaineer in Jennifer Peedom's new film alongside Genden Phuntsok as Sherpa Tenzing Norgay - who are credited with being the first climbers to summit Everest back in 1953 - and he took part in a trek to the foot of the mountain alongside the director and his co-star Genden.
Variety reports the trio were accompanied by a high-altitude medical specialist to keep them safe. Opening up about the experience during the Zurich Film Festival, Tom said: "I love that this film really reveals the deeply spiritual relationship that Tenzing had with the mountain, not a mountain to be conquered, but a goddess to be revered, a mother into whose lap he might climb.
"I think Hillary was really open to that depth of feeling. They did this extraordinary thing. Amazing. They achieved the impossible, like stepping on the moon.
"After that, their lives were changed forever; summiting Everest became possible, and thousands and thousands of people have done it since."
Tom also revealed he's been fascinated by Everest for years he was moved by Jennifer's vision for the film, which tells the story from Tenzing's perspective.
He said: "I’ve been compelled by Everest for as long as I can remember. What moved me so much about Jen’s screenplay and the premise and the promise of her film, which she sent to me three years ago with a beautiful letter, was that it was to put Tenzing Norgay at the center of his own story, to reframe that narrative from a different perspective and bring him into the foreground."
The Apple Original Films drama will received its European premiere at the film festival in Zurich on Thursday night (24.09.26).
The true-life drama centers on Tenzing, a gifted Himalayan climber, and Edmund as they attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, 8,849 metres above sea level.
Zurich Film Festival director Christian Jungen said: “This year’s Zurich Film Festival motto is ‘dream big’. Our breathtaking opening film Tenzing fits perfectly, because it shows how you can grow beyond yourself when you have a big dream.
"The film offers powerful emotion and mountain scenery of sublime beauty. But it also carries an important message for our time – the first ascent of Mount Everest only succeeded because the climbers respected the local Sherpa people and the laws of nature."
Jennifer, whose previous films include the acclaimed mountaineering documentary Sherpa and Mountain, said: "At its heart, Tenzing is about a man who dared to imagine a life beyond the limits the world had placed on him, and the courage, sacrifice and belief it took to reach the highest point on earth.
"The spirit of ‘dream big’ feels incredibly fitting."
