CANNES, France - US actor Denzel Washington received a surprise honorary Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday evening in recognition of his outstanding career, according to organisers.

Washington, 70, was in southern France for the premiere of US director Spike Lee's latest film Highest 2 Lowest, an adaptation of legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's High and Low, which also celebrated its premiere on Monday.

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Washington, who was joined by co-stars A$AP Rocky and Jeffrey Wright on the red carpet, stars as David King in the crime thriller that marks the fifth time he and Lee have worked together.

The two-time Oscar winner's movie roles have ranged from black activist Malcolm X, to a drunk but heroic pilot in Flight. His turn as a rogue detective in Training Day earned him his second Oscar in 2002 following his first win in 1990 for Glory.

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He also directed and starred in the 2007 film The Great Debaters about a professor who coached a debate team from a black US college to national glory, and produced and starred in the drama Antwone Fisher.

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Robert De Niro received a Palme d'Or honorary award for lifetime achievement, announced in advance, at the festival's opening ceremony last week, where he used his acceptance speech to call for protests against US President Donald Trump.

Highest 2 Lowest is set to hit theatres in the United States on August 22.