Los Angeles, May 16 : Hollywood actor John Travolta was in for a surprise at the ongoing edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The surprise came ahead of the world premiere of his directorial debut â??Propeller One-Way Night Coachâ?? when the festival presented him with an honorary Palme dâ??Or, which is the Cannes equivalent of a lifetime achievement prize.

The actor was shocked and overwhelmed by the surprise honor, holding back tears while saying, â??This is beyond the Oscarâ??. Reports â??Varietyâ??.

â??Surprise completementâ??, an emotional Travolta exclaimed in French as the crowd erupted into rapturous applause. I canâ??t believe this. This is the last thing I expectedâ??.

Turning to Cannes director Thierry Fremaux, the actor said, â??You said this would be a special night, but I didnâ??t know it would mean thisâ??. Fremaux responded, â??We knewâ??.

â??This is a humbling moment, so thank you Thierry from the bottom of my heartâ??, Travolta said. â??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 couldnâ??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 muchâ??.

As per â??Varietyâ??, the actor, who has been nominated for the best actor Oscar twice, attended Cannes this year to premiere â??Propeller One-Way Night Coachâ??, his Apple-backed film based on his 1997 childrenâ??s book of the same name.

The autobiographical family movie, which he called the â??most personal film heâ??s ever doneâ??, unfolds in the golden age of aviation as a young airplane enthusiast Jeff and his mother set off on a one-way, cross-country odyssey to Hollywood. The movie also stars Travoltaâ??s daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta.

/IANS