Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe to play leading roles in legendary mountaineer Tenzing Norgay biopic
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Expected to be a film made on a large scale, we will for the first time see a biopic made with such great detail on Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay.
Get ready to face the Mount Everest breeze as Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe have confirmed their roles in a biopic based on Tenzing Norgay, the legendary Nepalese mountaineer who summited the world's tallest mountain. Tenzing and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first men ever to scale the highest point on Earth in 1953.
The biopic is backed by See-Saw Films. The film will be first introduced to buyers at Cannes.
Tom to play Edmund Hillary in Tenzing biopic
According to Variety, the biopic will see Tom Hiddleston as Hillary and Willem Dafoe as the English expedition leader, Colonel John Hunt. The lead cast for the role of Tenzing is still under process.
Tenzing will be directed by Jennifer Peedom
The film will be helmed by Jennifer Peedom. She has the exclusive rights to tell Tenzing’s story via his family and has a close relationship with the Sherpa community.
Jennifer is known for her penchant for films based on epic cinematic landscapes. She has previously worked on feature documentaries like Solo, Sherpa and Mountain.
Tenzing is written by Luke Davies will be produced by Liz Watts, Emile Sherman and Iain Canning for See-Saw Films, alongside Jennifer Peedom and Davies. Executive producers are Simon Gillis, David Michôd and Norbu Tenzing.
Jennifer said, “I could not be more thrilled to be bringing Tenzing Norgay’s story to the screen. I’ve been working towards this film my whole career, and I’m incredibly grateful to Tenzing’s family for entrusting me with it. I am excited to work with See-Saw Films and our amazing cast to bring this story to life. Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe are two of the most generous and talented actors in the business, so pairing them with our brilliant Himalayan cast is going to be electric. I have no doubt this film will resonate widely. We all have our own mountains to climb, and this film shows us what human beings are truly capable of.”
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