John Travolta arrived at Cannes expecting to premiere a film. He left with something that left him in tears.
The 72-year-old actor was surprised onstage at the Debussy Theater on Friday, 15 May, when festival head Thierry Frémaux presented him with an honourary Palme d’Or, one of the most prestigious honours in world cinema.
Frémaux called Travolta “one of the greatest actors” deserving of the recognition, catching the star completely off guard.
“I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected,” Travolta said, visibly emotional.
“You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t think you meant this. This is a humbling moment. This is beyond the Oscar.”
The evening had already been a significant one for Travolta, who walked the red carpet earlier alongside the cast of Propeller One-Way Night Coach, his directorial debut, which he also wrote, narrated and produced.
The film, based on his 1997 book of the same name, follows an eight-year-old aviation enthusiast named Jeff who takes a cross-country flight to Hollywood with his mother.
Travolta wrote the original book for his late son Jett, who died in 2009 at the age of 16.
His daughter Ella Bleu Travolta, 26, stars in the film and was by his side throughout the evening, having also accompanied her father on the rather spectacular journey to get there.
Earlier that day, Travolta piloted his own plane to Nice, documenting the flight on Instagram and signing off with a promise that champagne for all passengers was on him.
Accepting the honour, Travolta made clear just how much the people around him have shaped his work.
“This is the blueprint of my life and everyone that was in the movie is sitting in the audience right there, my family, and this is why this film exists and why I exist as an artist because of that group of people right there,” he said.
