The Thor and Night Manager actor plays Hillary in Tenzing, directed by Jennifer Peedom, which tells the story of the 1953 Everest expedition through the eyes of Sherpa-turned-summit-partner Norgay. <\/p>\n
In the film, Hiddleston bears a striking resemblance to the then-33-year-old Hillary: the facial expressions, the posture and the iconic blue-and-white striped flap hat. <\/p>\n
Tenzin Dalha, Willem Dafoe, Genden Phuntsok, Harry Greenwood, Tom Hiddleston and Pasang Arya Sherpa in Tenzing. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The 45-year-old spent months researching the mountaineer, reading extensively, talking to his family and following in his footsteps, trekking through Nepal and Aoraki\/Mt Cook National Park, where they filmed. <\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that he was an extraordinarily good man,\u201d he tells the Herald.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that he loved the outdoors, he loved nature, he loved the mountains, and it was very deep for him. He had a natural humility.\u201d <\/p>\n
The role marked Hiddleston\u2019s first visit to New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m aware of the extraordinary privilege and good fortune that my first visit to New Zealand was to play Sir Ed. I was really aware that I was playing a great legend.\u201d <\/p>\n
Genden Phuntsok and Tom Hiddleston star in Tenzing. Photo \/ Image courtesy of Apple<\/p>\n
During his preparation, Hiddleston also met Kanchhq Sherpa, the last surviving member of the 1953 expedition, who told him stories from that historic trip. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me that Hillary was always laughing. He always loved to eat and drink with the Sherpas, no airs or graces, no sense of status, just a really decent, kind, good man.\u201d <\/p>\n
But Hiddleston says Hillary\u2019s understated reputation often obscures how formidable he was. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think at the time of 1953 he was at the peak of his powers as an athlete,\u201d Hiddleston explains. <\/p>\n
While expedition leader Colonel John Hunt (played by William Dafoe) and Tenzing both recognised Hillary\u2019s immense strength, Hiddleston says Hillary saw the greatness in his climbing partner. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had this engine, this force. He was competent and capable and fast and strong, and he recognised that in Tenzing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that the brotherhood he felt with Tenzing was something very special and lasted the length of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Hiddleston spent a month filming in the South Island in 2025. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Alongside co-star Genden Phuntsok, who plays Tenzing Norgay, the actor trekked 65km from Lukla to Everest Base Camp while preparing for the role. <\/p>\n
Liz Watts, head of film and television for production company See-Saw Films, says both actors were committed to being in the environment and climbing. <\/p>\n
\u201cGenden really climbed up the crevasse, as did Tom \u2013 he did the fall and climb out. Their dedication and sort of delight in working on the mountain and in Nepal is part of the storytelling that has really affected the audience\u2019s love for the film.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand mountaineers helped recreate some of the expedition\u2019s most famous moments. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were surrounded by the extraordinary mountaineering community of New Zealand,\u201d Hiddleston says, singling out legendary Kiwi Everest climbers and guides Guy Cotter, Hugh Barnard and Mike Roberts, alongside stunt co-ordinator Augie Davis and his climbing team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to publicly thank and extend my gratitude to all those people who were so incredibly generous, kind, big-hearted and open-hearted to me.\u201d <\/p>\n
It was in Nepal where the actors saw the impact Hillary still has across the Khumbu region. <\/p>\n
\u201cEd Hillary dedicated his whole life to improving the lives of the Sherpas and the people who live and work in the Khumbu Valley in the foothills of Everest. He built a school; he built a hospital,\u201d Hiddleston explains.<\/p>\n
Despite his achievements, the actor believes Hillary, who died in 2008, embodied a particularly Kiwi quality: an unwillingness to see himself as extraordinary. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe just never sought fame or glory. And then it was a great surprise to him that fame followed him for the rest of his life, and there was a great light shining on him. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut he chose to use that light to help other people and to improve their lives, and I think that speaks to the heart of the man.\u201d <\/p>\n
The film aims to give Norgay\u2019s contribution greater recognition alongside Hillary\u2019s. Photo \/ Apple TV<\/p>\n
Those sentiments are shared by Phuntsok. The Chinese actor of Tibetan descent becomes emotional talking about the pair\u2019s legacy. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I go to the Himalaya Valley, I see Hillary,\u201d Phuntsok says. \u201cHillary and Tenzing, especially Hillary, are like god[s] there. <\/p>\n
\u201cHillary has already passed, but if heaven exists, I think Hillary will be there. If Hillary is not in heaven, heaven doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d <\/p>\n
To prepare for the role, Phuntsok spent time with Tenzing Norgay\u2019s children; his son Norbu Tenzing was an executive producer on the film. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me many stories that other people don\u2019t know, or I cannot find from a book and that was a really special moment for me because I had prepared many things about Tenzing Norgay, reading books or watching documentaries for research, gathering many details about his life. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I was moved [when speaking to the family] and happy, excited, but there was also sadness, something emotional happened in my mind,\u201d Phuntsok says.<\/p>\n
For Hiddleston, some of the most revealing insights also came from family stories. <\/p>\n
Hillary\u2019s son, Peter Hillary, told Hiddleston about a time his father\u2019s climbing group was caught in appalling weather during a later expedition. The team finally made it to shelter in their tents, soaked, exhausted and miserable.<\/p>\n
\u201cEntering like drowned rats, soaked to the skin and completely silent, miserable, they made a brew of tea and tried to get settled, and Ed Hillary was the first to speak, and he looked up with a twinkle in his eye and said to the team, \u2018You know folks, some people wouldn\u2019t think this was much fun\u2019,\u201d Hiddleston retells the story with a laugh. <\/p>\n
\u201cSuddenly he had transformed the misery of the experience into a great adventure, and they felt like the luckiest people on Earth.\u201d <\/p>\n
For Hiddleston, the anecdote captured Hillary perfectly. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had this magic about him, of a true adventurer. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that was a testament to the spirit of the man.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tom Hiddleston, Genden Phuntsok and Willem Dafoe. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Peter also told Hiddleston that his father had a habit of whistling and singing whenever he was happy. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo I tried to pay tribute to that in the film,\u201d says the actor. In one scene, Hiddleston\u2019s Hillary is seen singing while descending the mountain, a small moment inspired by those family memories. <\/p>\n
Then there was the voice of Hillary. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was not short of inspiration on the South Island,\u201d says Hiddleston. <\/p>\n
That quintessentially Kiwi accent in the film required months of work, and while he\u2019s proud of it, Hiddleston knows the final verdict isn\u2019t his to give, so he asks me what I think.<\/p>\n
After spending two hours immersed in the accent while watching the film, I confessed that, after decades of hearing Hollywood actors butcher the Kiwi twang, I felt he\u2019d done it justice. Maybe even nailed it. The actor grins ear to ear at the revelation. <\/p>\n
\u201cI really appreciate that coming from you, Jenni,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
For the man entrusted to portray one of New Zealand\u2019s most revered figures, the praise that meant the most hasn\u2019t come from a critic or a director; it comes from New Zealanders. <\/p>\n
Hiddleston pauses before sharing one final story from the set.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinlay Pardington, our key grip, on the last day of filming gave me a $5 bill with Hillary on the front and said, \u2018You did it mate. This one\u2019s for you\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tenzing is out now on Apple TV and in select theatres. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Thor and Night Manager actor plays Hillary in Tenzing, directed by Jennifer Peedom, which tells the story…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[16717,89438,36088,104225,228208,156,593,308932,164779,78,57200,5158,57201,117,111,139,69,90,10538,8485,1120,173684,5134],"class_list":["post-633704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-becoming","tag-brave","tag-courageous","tag-discovers","tag-edmund","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-hiddleston","tag-hillary","tag-in","tag-jenni","tag-man","tag-mortimer","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-play","tag-sir","tag-takes","tag-tenzing","tag-tom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}