Two-time Oscar nominee John Travolta received a surprise honour at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or ahead of the world premiere of his directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach.

At the Debussy Theatre on Friday, Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux presented Travolta, 72, with the award, calling him “one of the greatest actors” to receive the recognition.

A recognition equivalent to a lifetime achievement award, Travolta described the honour as “beyond the Oscar,” saying he could hardly believe the unexpected honour.

Speaking in French, Travolta exclaimed “Surprise complètement.”

Turning to Cannes Frémaux, he added that he had been told it would be a special night but did not expect such an honour, to which Frémaux responded, “We knew!”

“This is a humbling moment, so thank you Thierry from the bottom of my heart,” Travolta added.

Travolta attended Cannes this year to premiere Propeller One-Way Night Coach, an Apple-backed film based on his 1997 children’s book of the same name.

He described the autobiographical family drama as his “most personal film yet,” set during the golden age of aviation and following young airplane enthusiast Jeff (Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) on a cross-country journey to Hollywood.

The film also features Travolta’s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta.

Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand were earlier announced as recipients of honorary Palme d’Or statues for the opening and closing nights of the festival, following last year’s surprise honour given to Denzel Washington ahead of Highest 2 Lowest.

Earlier editions of the Cannes Film Festival had featured Travolta’s films, including Pulp Fiction (1994), She’s So Lovely (1997) and Primary Colors (1998).

Propeller One-Way Night Coach will be available for streaming on Apple TV from May 29.