Tenzing: New Everest Film Puts Tenzing Norgay at the Heart of the 1953 Story

One of the greatest stories in mountaineering history is returning to the screen this October – but this time the story of the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest is being told from a very different perspective.

Tenzing, a new Apple Original Film directed by Jennifer Peedom, places Tenzing Norgay at the centre of the historic 1953 expedition in which he and Edmund Hillary became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

Genden Phuntsok plays Tenzing Norgay, while British actor Tom Hiddleston takes on the role of New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary. Willem Dafoe portrays expedition leader John Hunt, with Caitríona Balfe, Thinley Lhamo and Tenzin Dalha also among the cast.

The film follows Tenzing’s long-held ambition to reach the summit of Chomolungma – the Tibetan name for Everest – while exploring his relationship with the mountain, his family and the Western expeditions arriving in the Himalayas.

Rather than depicting Tenzing simply as the Sherpa who accompanied Hillary to the summit, the film presents him as an experienced mountaineer with ambitions of his own and a spiritual connection to the mountain he had spent years attempting to climb.

That change of emphasis is at the heart of director Jennifer Peedom’s approach.

Peedom is already very familiar with the Everest region. Her previous work includes the acclaimed 2015 documentary Sherpa, as well as the mountain films Mountain and Solo, and she has spent many years working in the Himalayas.

Tenzing’s family were also involved with the production, with his son Norbu Tenzing serving as an executive producer.

Hiddleston Treks to Everest Base Camp

The cast did considerably more preparation than simply learning their lines.

Before filming began, Tom Hiddleston and Genden Phuntsok travelled through Nepal together and trekked to Everest Base Camp, accompanied by director Jennifer Peedom and medical support.

The journey was intended partly to help the two actors develop the relationship they would later portray on screen.

For Hiddleston, who has spoken of a fascination with Everest stretching back many years, it also provided the opportunity to experience the environment in which Hillary and Tenzing’s partnership developed.

Filming subsequently took place in both Nepal and New Zealand, with Peedom determined to put the actors into genuine mountain environments rather than recreate the entire story on studio sets.

The physical landscape plays an important part in the finished film, with snow, altitude, glaciers and exposed mountain terrain forming far more than simply a backdrop to the story.

Everest as More Than a Mountain to Conquer

Another major theme is the different meaning Everest held for the climbers attempting it.

For many of the British expedition members, reaching the summit represented one of the final great geographical challenges.

For Tenzing, the film presents Chomolungma as something much deeper – a sacred mountain rather than simply an obstacle waiting to be conquered.

Hiddleston has said this was one of the aspects that attracted him to the project, describing Tenzing’s relationship with the mountain as spiritual and very different from the language of conquest traditionally associated with Everest.

The film also explores the position of Sherpa climbers within early Himalayan expeditions and the inequalities between local mountaineers and their Western counterparts.

Yet it does not attempt to diminish Hillary’s role.

Instead, the relationship between Hillary and Tenzing becomes central to the story – two men from very different backgrounds who developed the trust required to tackle the highest mountain on Earth together.

That partnership continued long after their historic summit on 29 May 1953, with the pair remaining friends for the rest of their lives.

An Everest Story Made for the Mountains

Director Jennifer Peedom’s familiarity with Himalayan climbing appears to have been one of the production’s greatest advantages.

Rather than approaching Everest purely as a Hollywood adventure story, the production worked with Tenzing’s family and cultural advisers while putting considerable effort into recreating both the physical and cultural environment surrounding the 1953 expedition.

The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival before appearing at Toronto and then receiving its European premiere as the opening film of the Zurich Film Festival on 24 September.

Now a much wider audience will get the opportunity to see it.

Tenzing will receive a limited cinema release from 9 October 2026, before becoming available worldwide on Apple TV from 16 October. The film runs for just over two hours.

For Everest followers, it promises something particularly interesting: a familiar story viewed through the eyes of the man whose name has always stood alongside Hillary’s in the history books, but whose own journey to the summit has rarely received the same attention.