Tom Hiddleston brought two chapters of his career into focus at the Zurich Film Festival this week. The British actor presented the European premiere of his new Everest drama Tenzing on opening night, received the festival’s Golden Eye Award, and took a moment to look back at the conversation that convinced him Loki would be more than a one-film role.
The 22nd Zurich Film Festival runs from September 24 to October 4, 2026. Hiddleston walked the green carpet alongside co-star Willem Dafoe and director Jennifer Peedom before the screening at the Kongresshaus Zürich.
Golden Eye Award and the Tenzing Opening Night
Zurich Film Festival CEO Christian Jungen presented Hiddleston with the Golden Eye Award, describing him as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. The honour came just before the film unspooled for Swiss audiences.
In his acceptance speech, Hiddleston said becoming an actor had been his dream since childhood and that he felt incredibly lucky to live it.
Luna Wedler, the Swiss actress, also received a Golden Eye Award that evening, becoming the first Swiss woman and the youngest actor ever to be honoured with the prize. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider handed her the trophy.
What Tenzing Is About
Tenzing tells the story of the 1953 Mount Everest expedition, the first confirmed ascent of the world’s highest mountain. The film puts Tenzing Norgay at the centre of his own story, with Genden Phuntsok playing the Sherpa climber and Hiddleston playing Sir Edmund Hillary.
The cast also includes Willem Dafoe, Caitríona Balfe, Tenzin Jigmey, Thinley Lhamo, and Tenzin Dalha.
Peedom previously directed the 2015 documentary Sherpa, which looked closely at the Sherpa culture around Everest and the way local climbers were treated by wealthy Western expeditions. That film helped shape how she approached Tenzing.
“My years in the Himalayas helped me understand more deeply that Everest cannot be separated from the culture, families and spiritual beliefs of the people who live beneath it,” Peedom told Entertainment Weekly. “Chomolungma was not simply an obstacle for him to overcome. She was the sacred Mother Goddess, and his relationship with her was deeply personal and spiritual.”
Hiddleston’s Trek to Everest Base Camp
To prepare for the role of Hillary, Hiddleston did not rely on research alone. After reading Peedom’s screenplay, watching Sherpa, and meeting the director, he signed on. That decision led him to climb to Everest’s base camp alongside Peedom, Phuntsok, and a high-altitude medical specialist.
The trek gave him a physical sense of what the mountain demands, but it also connected him to something deeper in the story.
“I love that this film really reveals the deeply spiritual relationship that Tenzing had with the mountain, not a mountain to be conquered, but a goddess to be revered, a mother into whose lap he might climb,” Hiddleston said at the festival.
He added that Hillary was open to that depth of feeling, and that the two men achieved something extraordinary together. “After that, their lives were changed forever; summiting Everest became possible, and thousands and thousands of people have done it since”.
During preproduction, Hiddleston and Phuntsok spoke with Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the 1953 expedition. Hiddleston asked him about Hillary. Kanchha Sherpa told them Hillary “was always laughing” and “always relaxed and happy”.
Kevin Feige’s Early Pitch for Loki
At the festival, Hiddleston also looked back at the start of his Marvel journey. He first played Loki in Thor (2011), the second film in what became the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He recalled the scale of those early days as “larger than life” and spoke warmly about his friendship with Chris Hemsworth.
“We were immediately bonded,” Hiddleston said. “It was a shared excitement about being invited to make a film like this.”
The actor thanked the late screenwriter Don Payne for developing Loki’s complex backstory. He then recalled a conversation with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who told him that Thor was not going to be the only film he would play Loki in.
Feige laid out the plan: Marvel had made Iron Man, was going to make Thor, then Captain America, and then The Avengers. In the first edition of the first Avengers comic, from 1967, the villain is Loki.
“In the first edition of the first ‘Avengers’ comic, from 1967, the villain is Loki, and we want you to be the villain,” Hiddleston recalled Feige saying.
Hiddleston went on to play Loki in seven movies and two seasons of the Disney+ series Loki. He said he never expected to play the character for this long, but called Loki “a brilliant character of such depth and dimension”.
Tenzing Release Dates for USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India, and Worldwide
Tenzing will open in select theatres on October 9, 2026, before streaming globally on Apple TV on October 16, 2026. Those dates apply to audiences in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, and other regions where Apple TV is available.
The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival before arriving in Zurich.
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Avengers: Doomsday and Loki’s Next Chapter
Hiddleston kept his comments about Avengers: Doomsday brief at Zurich, saying only that “it is coming”. The film is set for release on December 18, 2026.
Marvel recently re-released Avengers: Endgame in theatres with four minutes of new footage, including scenes featuring Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, bridging the 2019 film directly into Doomsday.
The new footage shows Loki appearing as a TVA member, knocking on a door while Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter share a dance, confirming his role in the upcoming film.
Also Read: Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe’s Everest Drama ‘Tenzing’ to Open Zurich Film Festival 2026
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