ZURICH — The 22nd Zurich Film Festival kicked off by honoring British star Tom Hiddleston with its prestigious Golden Eye Award, recognizing his prolific career across stage and screen. The tribute coincided with the European premiere of his latest feature, Tenzing, in which he co-stars alongside Willem Dafoe.
Hiddleston graced the green carpet for the opening night bow alongside director-screenwriter Jennifer Peedom and Dafoe. The festival runs through Oct. 4.
The honor celebrates a career spanning film, theater, and television, through which Hiddleston established a massive global footprint—most notably as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, alongside lauded roles in The Night Manager, War Horse, and Midnight in Paris.
During an intimate career talk ahead of the tribute ceremony, Hiddleston reflected on his tenure in the MCU, describing working within the franchise as “extraordinary and massive” due to the scale of the productions, the crews, and the resources involved.
He spoke candidly about his early days on 2011’s Thor and his bond with co-star Chris Hemsworth, who played his onscreen brother. Hiddleston recalled an instant friendship forming between them, noting they both felt like “the luckiest two men in the world” to land the career-defining gigs.
He noted that the film threw both actors into an intensive crash course in action sequences and intricate stunt choreography during an era when Marvel Studios was still in its early stages of universe-building.
When pressed on the highly anticipated tentpole Avengers: Doomsday, Hiddleston kept his cards close to his chest. “It’s coming,” he teased slyly, refusing to reveal any details about his involvement or character arc.
In the festival’s opening night pic Tenzing, Hiddleston plays New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, who reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953 alongside Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, portrayed by Jinhden Phuntsok.
Hiddleston shared that Everest had been a childhood fascination of his, but what truly drew him to the project was Peedom’s choice to reframe the story through Norgay’s perspective, rather than reducing the historic expedition to a Hillary-centric narrative.
He explained that the film frames Norgay’s relationship with the mountain as a deeply spiritual bond rather than a conquest over nature—a fresh narrative angle for the historic climb.
Alongside Hiddleston and Dafoe, the Tenzing ensemble features Jinhden Phuntsok, Thinley Lhamo, and Caitríona Balfe, marking Peedom’s return to one of the most iconic adventure sagas in mountaineering history.
The Zurich Film Festival runs through Oct. 4, with a starry slate of upcoming tributes honoring cinema heavyweights including John Turturro and Julianne Moore as part of its celebration of international film luminaries.
