One of Hollywood’s most gifted actors, Denzel Washington, is having a hell of a Monday after being surprised with an honorary Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Only 21 people have acquired the prize for career achievement since Marty director Delbert Mann first received the award for his 1955 romantic drama. Cannes director Thierry Fremaux surprised Washington with the Palme d’Or ahead of the screening of Spike Lee’s police procedural crime drama Highest 2 Lowest, starring Washington as David King. Lee presented Washington with the Palme d’Or after an enthusiastic introduction from Fremaux. Naturally, the moment elicited a spirited standing ovation from the crowd.
“This is a total surprise for me, so I’m emotional,” Washington said as part of his acceptance speech. “It’s a great opportunity to collaborate with my brother once again, brother from another mother, and to be here once again in Cannes. We’re a very privileged group in this room that we get to make movies and wear tuxedos and nice clothes and dress up and get paid for it as well. We’re just blessed beyond measure. I’m blessed beyond measure. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.”
Spike Lee directs Highest 2 Lowest from a screenplay by William Alan Fox, based on High and Low by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima, Eijiro Hisaita, and King’s Ransom by Evan Hunter. Highest 2 Lowest takes Kurosawa’s classic crime thriller to New York City and tells the story of what happens when a titan music mogul is targeted with a ransom plot.
Denzel Washington’s storied career includes knock-out roles in films like Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day, Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, Robert Zemeckis’s docudrama Flight, the Washington-directed period drama Fences, Jonathan Demme’s 1993 tear-jerker Philadelphia, and so much more. His next feature project includes a starring role in Fernando Meirelles’s Here Comes the Flood, an action thriller about a bank guard, a teller, and a master thief who become entangled in a deadly game.
We sincerely congratulate Mr. Denzel Washington on winning the Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes Festival. Throughout his career, Mr. Washington has given us countless outstanding performances, and we hope to enjoy his talent for years to come.