Denzel Washington sandwiched a whirlwind trip to the Cannes Film Festival, in between Broadway performances, for the premiere of Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" on Monday — and was rewarded with a surprise: an honorary Palme d'Or.

Cannes had flipped around some of its scheduling to accommodate Washington's speedy France trip, which came on his lone off-day while performing "Othello" in New York. Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux surprised Washington with the award before the Monday night premiere.