Epic new biographical drama Tenzing, starring Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe, tells the story of the very first people who scaled to the tip of Mount Everest back in 1953. The film will focus on legendary Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and mountaineer and explorer Edmund Hillary — and now Radio Times has an exclusive first look.

The climbing drama sheds light on the life of Norgay, played here by Tibetan actor Genden Phuntsok, and his perilous journey with Hillary (Hiddleston) as they attempted the seemingly impossible and make history in the process.

The clip features British explorer John Hunt, played by Dafoe, who led the famous 1953 expedition that included both Norgay and Hillary, informing the pair that their planned ascent up Everest has changed. Hunt orders Tenzing to dispatch several Sherpas ahead of the main expedition crew to make camp ready for a final push to the summit of Everest.

The clip goes on to show Norgay and Hillary discussing how the Sherpa's view of Everest differs from that of Hunt. Where Hunt and other British explorers view Everest as something to be conquered — Hunt describes their expedition as "the siege of Everest" — Norgay is altogether more spiritual, explaining, "they see mountains, we see ourselves. The mountains are the bones and we are the blood."

On their way to summit the legendary mountain, Norgay would save Hillary's life by quickly preventing him from falling into a crevasse after ice gives way.

The film offers a perspective that has largely gone untold in previous dramatisations of the expedition, centring proceedings on Tenzing and the role the Sherpa community played in the historic exploration of one of the most dangerous places on Earth.

Helmed by Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, who has directed several mountaineering documentaries, including 2008's Miracle on Everest, 2015's Sherpa and 2017's Mountain, Tenzing has received an avalanche of positivity following its debut at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival.

The film draws inspiration from the book Tenzing: Hero of Everest by Ed Douglas and has been adapted for the screen by Oscar-nominee Luke Davies, who also penned 2016's Lion and 2018's Beautiful Boy.

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