Denzel Washington receives surprise honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes premiere of ‘Highest 2 Lowest’

Legendary American actor Denzel Washington managed to sandwich a whirlwind trip to the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of Spike Lee’s latest joint Highest 2 Lowest on Monday. And it was a wise decision to take the time, as he was rewarded with a surprise: an honorary Palme d’Or.

Cannes accommodated Washington’s speedy France trip, which came on his lone off-day while performing “Othello” in New York, with Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux surprising Washington with the award before the Monday night premiere.

“This is my brother, right here,” said Spike Lee, who passed the award to Washington, who was on the Croisette for the first time.

“He’s on Broadway doing ‘Othello,’ so it really took a lot for him to fly here. Let’s give it up for Denzel Washington, please.

“This is a total surprise for me,” said Washington.

The festival usually gives out one or two honorary Palmes each edition. Last year, the awardees were Studio Ghibli and Georg

Last week, Robert De Niro received his honorary Palmeon the festival’s opening night. De Niro’s award was announced in advance, but surprise prizes aren’t unheard of. In 2022, Tom Cruise was presented with a surprise honorary Palme d’Or just before the screening of Top Gun: Maverick.

Highest 2 Lowest is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High and Low and stars Dnezel Washington, IIfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright and A$AP Rocky. The neo-noir crime thriller is distributed by A24 and hits theaters on 22 August before streaming on Apple TV+ on 5 September.