Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe, and Genden Phuntsok Take Filmmaking to New Heights in ‘Tenzing’
Towering above the world at more than 29,000 feet, Mount Everest has inspired generations of explorers, challenged the limits of human endurance, and become a symbol of what can happen when determination meets the seemingly impossible. But behind every extraordinary achievement are the people who make it possible, and few stories capture that spirit quite like the historic 1953 ascent of Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary. Now, director Jennifer Peedom is bringing that remarkable journey to the screen with Tenzing, an ambitious historical adventure that explores not only the physical triumph of reaching the world’s highest summit but also the friendship, cultural understanding, and shared humanity that made the achievement possible.
Starring Genden Phuntsok as Tenzing Norgay, Tom Hiddleston as Edmund Hillary, and Willem Dafoe as expedition leader Colonel John Hunt, the film approaches its subject with an extraordinary commitment to authenticity. Rather than relying entirely on Hollywood sets and digital effects to recreate the Himalayas, Peedom took her cast and crew into the mountains themselves, filming in Nepal and the Southern Alps of New Zealand to capture the scale, danger, and breathtaking beauty of the environments that defined the original expedition. The result was a production that demanded considerably more than memorizing dialogue and hitting marks. It required its performers to become climbers, its crew to operate under punishing conditions, and everyone involved to develop a deeper appreciation for the people whose accomplishments they were attempting to portray.
During a press conference moderated by Anthony Breznican, Peedom joined the cast of Tenzing to discuss the extraordinary experience of making the film. Their conversation offered an intimate look at a production shaped by frozen equipment, demanding mountain climbs, early-morning training sessions, and an unforgettable Himalayan trek that helped establish the friendship between its two leading actors. But beyond the physical challenges, the discussion revealed something considerably more meaningful: a shared understanding that Tenzing is ultimately less about conquering a mountain than recognizing the extraordinary things people can accomplish together.
[Warning: possible spoilers of Tenzing are below!]
Bringing the majesty of Everest to the silver screen
For director Jennifer Peedom, there was never much debate about filming Tenzing in genuine mountain environments. Having traveled throughout the Himalayas since her twenties and previously worked as a climbing camera operator on Everest expeditions, the filmmaker understood that the landscape was not simply a backdrop for the story. It was an essential part of its emotional identity, influencing the lives, beliefs, and relationships of the people who ventured into it. Capturing that relationship meant allowing her actors to experience the mountains firsthand, rather than asking them to imagine what it might feel like to stand beneath some of the most imposing natural formations on Earth.
“For me, it was always really important to shoot this film in the landscapes in which the story was set,” Peedom explained, describing her longstanding affection for both the Himalayas and the communities that call the region home.
She wanted the performers to experience the same sense of wonder that had captivated her decades earlier, believing the environment’s physical reality would naturally influence their performances. Although filming on Everest itself was impractical because of the extreme altitude, the production found an extraordinary alternative in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, whose towering peaks offered the visual scale required without exposing the cast and crew to the dangers of working at Everest’s highest elevations.
Even with that adjustment, the production was far from conventional. Peedom assembled a team with extensive firsthand Himalayan mountaineering experience, including Sherpa climbers who had reached Everest’s summit and safety specialists who understood the challenges of navigating treacherous mountain terrain. According to the director, the cast and crew collectively represented 61 Everest ascents, providing an extraordinary depth of practical knowledge that informed nearly every aspect of filming. That expertise let the production approach its most demanding sequences with confidence, though she quickly acknowledged that being safe did not necessarily mean being comfortable.
For Hiddleston, the experience was precisely what made the project so rewarding. Rather than pretending to confront the elements, the actors experienced genuine cold, physical exhaustion, and the unpredictable realities of working in the mountains. Those conditions helped create an atmosphere in which the performers could respond naturally to their surroundings, something Peedom believed would translate into a more convincing and emotionally engaging film.
A Himalayan trek that created a remarkable friendship
One of Peedom’s most inspired decisions came before the production’s most demanding filming began. Recognizing that the relationship between Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary would be central to the story, she arranged for Hiddleston and Phuntsok to spend time together in the Himalayas, following part of the route associated with the historic expedition. It was an unconventional approach to building chemistry, but it gave the actors a chance to develop a genuine connection while experiencing the landscapes that had shaped the lives of the men they were portraying.
Hiddleston recalled arriving in Nepal and, within approximately 15 hours, boarding a helicopter bound for Lukla Airport, the dramatic mountain airstrip that serves as a gateway for trekkers traveling toward Everest Base Camp. Upon landing, Phuntsok and renowned Sherpa mountaineer Phurba Tashi greeted him; Tashi has summited Everest 21 times and appeared in the director’s documentary Sherpa. The meeting took place beneath a sign identifying the airport as Tenzing-Hillary Airport, an appropriately symbolic location for two actors preparing to portray the men whose achievement had become part of mountaineering history.
The pair shared tea, discussed the responsibility of representing their characters, and began what would become a memorable journey through the Himalayan foothills. Over the next six or seven days, they trekked through forests, crossed mountain bridges, visited villages, and gradually gained elevation, walking for hours each day. Along the way, they spoke about the extraordinary determination of Tenzing and Hillary, the spiritual significance of the mountains, and the trust required to accomplish something as dangerous as reaching Everest’s summit.
But their journey was hardly devoid of humor. Hiddleston recalled stopping at a coffee shop in Namche when Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” came on the speakers. When he learned Phuntsok didn’t know the song, he decided to introduce his fellow actor to the classic duet. Hiddleston took on Marvin Gaye’s part while Phuntsok assumed Tammi Terrell’s, transforming an ordinary coffee break into an impromptu musical performance that seemed almost too appropriate for the film they were preparing to make.
The moment became a favorite memory for Tom Hiddleston, who described it as the beginning of a beautiful friendship. More importantly, their time together helped establish the mutual respect and understanding that would become essential to their performances. By the time filming began, the actors had already shared a meaningful journey of their own, giving them a personal connection to the friendship at the heart of Tenzing.
Finding the humanity behind a historic achievement in Tenzing
For Genden Phuntsok, portraying Tenzing Norgay felt especially personal. Born on the Tibetan Plateau in China, the actor saw similarities between his own upbringing and the legendary mountaineer’s early life. He recalled growing up in a community where families cultivated barley and potatoes, tended yaks, and maintained a close relationship with the surrounding mountains. Those experiences gave him a natural understanding of the environment and lifestyle that shaped Tenzing’s character.
Rather than relying exclusively on historical research, Phuntsok immersed himself in the daily life of a Sherpa village before filming. He spent time living at Phurba Tashi’s home in Khumjung, practicing his Sherpa-language dialogue with residents and learning from their pronunciation, expressions, and everyday interactions. His commitment to preparation occasionally produced amusing situations, particularly when he began rehearsing his lines aloud while walking through the village. Phuntsok recalled practicing his dialogue with anyone nearby, including yaks and sheep, much to the amusement of Tashi’s daughter, who eventually offered to help him rehearse.
That immersion gave Phuntsok an opportunity to understand his character beyond the historic accomplishment for which he is remembered. The similarities between their childhood experiences, their relationships with nature, and their familiarity with life at high elevations helped him connect emotionally with Tenzing as an individual. Even something as ordinary as their shared fondness for potatoes became a small but meaningful detail in his understanding of the character.
The actor also credited his fellow performers with helping him navigate the challenges of working in different languages. Willem Dafoe became an especially supportive presence, with Phuntsok recalling that the two sometimes practiced dialogue through the walls of their neighboring rooms. If he needed help with an English line, he could call out to Dafoe, who would respond from the other side. This small example of the collaborative spirit that developed during production reinforced the idea that the film’s story of cooperation and mutual respect was reflected in the relationships of the people making it.
Dafoe, meanwhile, found his own character’s journey equally compelling. As Colonel John Hunt, the leader of the British expedition, he portrays a man whose military background and sense of responsibility initially influence how he approaches the enormous challenge before him. When asked whether Hunt’s relationship with the Sherpa climbers reflected antagonism, Dafoe offered a more nuanced interpretation, explaining that he saw the character as a disciplined officer operating under extraordinary pressure rather than someone driven by personal hostility.
Hunt, Dafoe explained, believed strongly in preparation, structure, and the importance of maintaining a carefully developed plan. Those qualities could sometimes make him appear rigid, particularly when other members of the expedition offered alternative perspectives. Yet as the journey progressed, the shared experience of confronting the mountain created opportunities for greater understanding. He saw the character’s evolution as a movement toward humility, with Hunt gradually recognizing the extraordinary abilities and contributions of the people around him.
For the actor, that transformation was among the role’s most appealing aspects. Having previously collaborated with Peedom on some documentaries, including Mountain, Dafoe was already familiar with her passion for the natural world and her thoughtful approach to storytelling. He recalled expressing interest in participating in Tenzing long before the production became a reality, recognizing that the project offered both a compelling dramatic opportunity and the chance to embark on an extraordinary adventure.
When filmmaking becomes an actual expedition
While emotional preparation was essential, the physical demands of Tenzing required a different level of commitment. The actors trained with experienced mountaineers who taught them techniques for navigating snow, ice, and steep terrain, ensuring their movements reflected the practical realities of climbing rather than simply its appearance. Tom Hiddleston recalled one of their earliest training exercises, when the cast was taken to the bottom of a crevasse and instructed to climb out by cutting steps into the ice with their axes.
The exercise was exhausting, requiring the actors to create their own footholds while navigating a steep wall of ice. By the time they reached the top, they were breathing heavily and beginning to understand the extraordinary physical effort high-altitude climbers require. Hiddleston recalled mountaineer Barry Blanchard greeting their accomplishment with a memorable observation: “High-altitude mountaineering is the fine art of suffering. Welcome.”
The cast would keep learning that lesson throughout production. The mountain sequences required performers to work in heavy clothing and climbing gear while facing freezing temperatures, powerful winds, and terrain that demanded constant attention. Hiddleston described the discomfort of his fingers and hands becoming painfully cold, with his skin cracking beneath his gloves as he worked with ropes and climbing equipment. During filming near the Hillary Step, the steep section of Everest’s summit route named after the mountaineer he portrays, he became particularly aware of how much he depended on his hands to maintain his grip and navigate the terrain.
Peedom recalled one especially bitter day when the temperature was approximately minus 15 degrees Celsius, and she struggled to give direction because her jaw had become so cold. Dafoe faced his own difficulties, particularly with something as ordinary as eating lunch. The actor explained that cast and crew members frequently traveled to remote mountain locations by helicopter, carrying food and equipment for the day. Unfortunately, sandwiches packed in the morning often froze solid before anyone could eat them. Dafoe joked that he wasn’t sure he ever managed to eat a sandwich while working on the mountain.
Even drinking water presented logistical challenges, especially when performers were wearing layers of heavy clothing in remote locations without convenient facilities. Yet the actors spoke about those difficulties with a mixture of amusement and appreciation. Rather than seeing the conditions as unnecessary hardships, they recognized that the shared experience helped create the teamwork and determination that defined the original expedition.
Hiddleston also recalled the cast training together in Kathmandu during preproduction, running through the city’s streets around five o’clock in the morning as the sun began to rise. The early-morning sessions built endurance and created a sense of camaraderie among the performers. For Hiddleston, those runs became one of his favorite memories of preparing for the film, offering a glimpse of how the original expedition members might have developed their own relationships through shared preparation and common purpose.
The physical and spiritual power of the mountains
The director’s commitment to authenticity extended beyond the film’s visual presentation. One of the most revealing aspects of the press conference involved her discussion of sound design, particularly the extraordinary importance of breathing at extreme altitudes. Drawing upon her own experience filming in the mountains, the director explained that climbing above 8,000 meters becomes an almost relentless struggle to obtain enough oxygen. Every step requires effort, followed by a pause to recover enough strength to attempt another.
Communicating that experience became a major priority during postproduction. Peedom revealed that the filmmakers devoted considerable attention to recording and incorporating breathing sounds, including additional dialogue recording sessions designed to recreate the physical exertion of climbing at high altitude. She also wanted the film to acknowledge the less glamorous realities of mountaineering, including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and the extraordinary energy demands placed upon the human body.
Those details mattered because they showed why reaching Everest’s summit requires more than courage or physical strength. At extreme elevations, climbers can struggle to eat enough to sustain themselves, while low oxygen creates increasingly dangerous physiological conditions. Hiddleston emphasized that the cast did not enter Everest’s so-called death zone, but the environments they worked in gave them a greater appreciation for the extraordinary endurance required of the original climbers.
Yet for all the physical suffering associated with mountaineering, the cast repeatedly returned to the profound beauty and spiritual significance of the landscapes they encountered. Hiddleston described his time in the Himalayas as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, explaining that standing among mountains of such extraordinary scale created an overwhelming sense of humility. The experience reminded him that human life is brief against the immense history of the natural world, and that the mountains hold a power that cannot be fully understood without experiencing them firsthand.
For Hiddleston, the trek with Phuntsok became almost meditative. The physical simplicity of walking for hours each day quieted his mind, creating a sense of peace that contrasted sharply with the intensity of the environment. He also emphasized the responsibility people share in protecting such places, particularly as environmental damage and pollution threaten some of the world’s most remarkable natural landscapes.
Phuntsok echoed those sentiments, explaining that respect for nature had been deeply ingrained in him since childhood. His grandparents taught him to appreciate mountains, rivers, and the sun, recognizing the natural world as something deserving of care rather than simply a resource to be exploited. He recalled seeing Everest’s summit for the first time from a village in the Himalayas and feeling overwhelmed by the realization of how small human beings are when compared with the extraordinary scale of nature.
Peedom hoped audiences would experience at least some of that same sense of wonder while watching Tenzing. Her goal was not simply to recreate the geography of the original expedition but to communicate why the mountains inspire such powerful emotional and spiritual connections. By placing her actors in those environments, she believed the film could capture something difficult to manufacture through conventional filmmaking techniques.
The iconic photograph that defined history
One of the most recognizable images in mountaineering history is the photograph of Tenzing Norgay standing atop Everest following the successful 1953 ascent. The image has become synonymous with the achievement, but it also represents an intriguing aspect of the relationship between Tenzing and Hillary. During the press conference, Peedom and Hiddleston discussed the photograph’s significance and how it influenced the film’s storytelling.
Peedom explained that she incorporated archival documentary footage into Tenzing, using historical imagery to connect the dramatized events with the real expedition. The filmmakers initially experimented with including the moment when Hillary took the famous photograph within the summit sequence itself, but ultimately decided to reserve the image for the end of the film. For Peedom, the photograph represented more than proof of an extraordinary accomplishment. Because Tenzing’s face is obscured by his mountaineering equipment, it also invites viewers to consider the person behind the iconic image, a question that became central to her interpretation of the story.
Hiddleston offered additional context about the circumstances surrounding the photograph, explaining that climbers have very little time at Everest’s summit because they must carefully manage their oxygen supplies and the daylight needed for a safe descent. Hillary and Tenzing therefore had limited opportunities to take photographs or celebrate their achievement. Hiddleston recalled reading Hillary’s explanation that he wasn’t entirely certain whether Tenzing knew how to operate the camera and didn’t believe the summit was the appropriate place to teach him.
But for Hiddleston, the most important element of the story was the shared nature of the accomplishment. He quoted Hillary’s reflection on the expedition: “We shared the risks. We shared the challenges. We shared the success. Nothing else matters.”
That sentiment became central to how the cast understood the film. The historic ascent was not simply a competition between individuals or a triumph to credit to one person. It was the culmination of an enormous collective effort involving climbers, guides, expedition leaders, and communities whose knowledge and support made the achievement possible.
Tenzing is a production built on trust, teamwork, and unexpected kindness
That spirit of cooperation extended throughout the production itself. Although the actors endured difficult conditions, they repeatedly emphasized that the people working behind the camera often faced even greater challenges. Cinematographer Stefan Duscio and the camera team had to navigate the same demanding terrain as the performers while carrying the extra equipment needed to capture the film’s extraordinary imagery. Willem Dafoe praised their dedication, recognizing that their responsibilities required remarkable physical endurance and technical skill.
Hiddleston similarly described how the small group of cast and crew members working in the mountains developed a powerful sense of connection. Everyone experienced the same cold, wind, snow, and physical exhaustion, creating an atmosphere in which traditional distinctions between performers and technical personnel mattered less than the shared responsibility of completing the work safely.
For Genden Phuntsok, one particularly moving incident captured that spirit better than any elaborate speech could have. During filming in a snowstorm, he became so cold that he could barely feel his fingers. As he struggled with the conditions, a crew member approached and offered him a cup of hot tea. The gesture was simple, but Phuntsok was astonished that someone had managed to provide a warm drink in such an inhospitable environment.
What moved him even more was noticing that the crew member’s own hands were freezing, yet the individual continued working and distributing tea to others. Phuntsok recalled feeling deeply grateful for the kindness, recognizing that many of the people making the film possible were enduring extraordinary hardships without receiving the same attention as the actors.
The experience reinforced one of the central ideas running throughout Tenzing: remarkable accomplishments are rarely the work of a single individual. They depend on people supporting one another, often through small acts of generosity and determination that never make it into the historical record.
A story about humanity in this Apple Original Film
By the conclusion of the press conference, it was clear that Tenzing had become something considerably more meaningful to its cast and director than another historical drama. The production had challenged them physically, introduced them to extraordinary communities, and encouraged them to reconsider their relationships with nature and one another. But perhaps most importantly, it had given them a deeper understanding of the human qualities that made the original Everest expedition such an extraordinary achievement.
For Peedom, the film represents an opportunity to celebrate the people and cultures behind one of history’s most recognizable mountaineering milestones, particularly the Sherpa communities whose expertise has been fundamental to Himalayan exploration. For Hiddleston, it is a story about friendship, shared responsibility, and the humility that comes from recognizing the natural world’s power. For Dafoe, the expedition offers a compelling exploration of character, revealing how people respond to extraordinary challenges and how those experiences can transform their understanding of others. And for Phuntsok, portraying Tenzing Norgay offered a deeply personal opportunity to connect with a remarkable figure whose life reflected cultural traditions and experiences he understood from his own upbringing.
Hiddleston perhaps summarized the production’s unusual approach most effectively when he recalled advice from an acting teacher who described the profession as being truthful in imaginary circumstances. Working with Peedom, he joked, reduced that philosophy to being truthful in circumstances, because the environments surrounding the actors were no longer imaginary. The mountains were real, the cold was real, and the physical challenges demanded genuine effort.
That authenticity is what Peedom hopes will resonate with audiences. While Tenzing certainly offers the visual grandeur and dramatic tension associated with a major historical adventure, its emotional foundation rests on something more intimate: the relationships between people who discover that extraordinary accomplishments become possible when they learn to trust one another.
More than seven decades after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached Everest’s summit, their achievement still inspires generations of explorers and dreamers. But as the cast and filmmaker discovered during their own remarkable journey, the greatest lesson of the story may have little to do with standing on top of the world. Sometimes, the most extraordinary part of reaching the summit is recognizing the people who helped you get there.
Tenzing is streaming on Apple TV! Are you excited to see this film? Will you be checking it out? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to keep the conversation going!
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