Denzel Washington received a surprise lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. Despite his many career accolades, it was the 70-year-old American actor's first appearance on the red carpet at Cannes, for the premiere of Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest in which he stars.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor was presented with an honorary Palme d'Or by festival chiefs Thierry Fremaux and Iris Knobloch before the screening of Highest 2 Lowest, with co-star A$AP Rocky and his partner Rihanna among the VIPs in the audience.
Before handing over the prize to Washington, Fremaux introduced a montage of the actor's memorable performances – including in Malcolm X and Mo' Better Blues, both directed by Lee.
Clips were also shown from Glory, which earned him an Oscar for best supporting actor in 1989, and Training Day, for which he won the best actor Oscar in 2002 – the same year Halle Berry won best actress for Monster's Ball, making it the first year that both leading performance awards went to black actors.
"It's a total surprise, I'm so emotional," Washington said, a member of the audience told French news agency AFP.
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Scuffle on the red carpet
The cast of Highest 2 Lowest put on a show on the Cannes red carpet, with Spike Lee in an orange pinstriped suit and an orange and blue hat, and A$AP Rocky showing off a gold dental piece.
However, Washington's first appearance at the festival was marred by a testy encounter with a photographer as he entered the Grand Lumière Theatre.
The photographer was seen grabbing the actor by the arm as he posed in front of a bank of cameras. Washington shook him off and then pointed his finger at him and appeared to say "Stop it" a number of times, videos showed.
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His mood was no doubt lifted by rave reviews of him and Lee's film. Loosely adapted from Akira Kurosawa's 1963 classic High and Low, the Hollywood Reporter said the film has "wit, high style and kinetic energy to burn".
The Guardian praised Washington's "magnificent form" in the movie, saying he played a music mogul with "grinning monarchical assurance".
Long history
Lee has a long history at Cannes, having brought several films to the festival including his groundbreaking first film She's Gotta Have it (1986) and Do the Right Thing in 1989.
He won the Grand Prize for BlacKkKlansman in 2018 and was president of the jury in 2021.
Besides the screening of Highest 2 Lowest (in the out of competition category), Lee is also promoting Talk Me, a short film on which he was the executive producer. It premieres on Thursday and is in the running for La Cinef category prizes.
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Although Cannes usually hands out honorary awards in dedicated ceremonies, it is not unusual for actors to receive them unexpectedly – as happened with Harrison Ford at the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023.
This year's planned honorary Palme d'Or went to 81-year-old Robert De Niro, who gave a rousing speech on the opening night of the festival, slamming US President Donald Trump's attack on the arts.
(with AFP)
