Hollywood star John Travolta received a major surprise while premiering his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, at the Cannes Film Festival, when he was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or, the festival’s equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, leaving the actor emotional and in tears on stage.
John Travolta gets honorary Palme d’Or
Festival head Thierry Frémaux surprised John, 72, with the prestigious award onstage at the Debussy Theater on Friday, calling him “one of the greatest actors” deserving of an award.
John was shocked and overwhelmed by the surprise honour, and was seen holding back tears while saying, “This is beyond the Oscar.”
“Surprise complétement!. I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected. You (Cannes director Thierry Fremaux) said this would be a special night, but I didn’t know it would mean this,” an emotional John exclaimed on stage.
The actor continued, “This is a humbling moment, so thank you Thierry from the bottom of my heart. When I met with you in November, I had no expectation that my film would be accepted. And when Thierry said it was not only accepted but it was making history because it would be the first film ever accepted that early, I cried like a baby because I just couldn’t believe it. Because in my opinion, you are the most discerning person in the movie industry. I was just happy to be here! I never expected this. Thank you so much.”
Previously, it was announced that Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand would be receiving honorary Palme d’Or statues on the opening and closing nights of the festival, respectively. Last year, Denzel Washington was presented the surprise honorary Palme ahead of the world premiere of Highest 2 Lowest.
John at Cannes 2026
The two-time Oscar-nominated actor John attended the Cannes Film Festival this year for the premiere of Propeller One-Way Night Coach, an Apple-backed project adapted from his 1997 children’s book of the same name.
The autobiographical family movie, which he has called the “most personal film he’s ever done”, is set in the golden age of aviation as a young airplane enthusiast Jeff (Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) set off on a one-way, cross-country odyssey to Hollywood. The film also stars John’s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta. Propeller One-Way Night Coach will start streaming on Apple TV from May 29. John’s prior history with the Cannes Film Festival includes screenings of Pulp Fiction (1994), She’s So Lovely (1997) and Primary Colors (1998).