Veteran Hollywood actor Bruce Dern received a warm tribute at the Cannes Film Festival this week as a new documentary on his life and career premiered at the festival.

The documentary, titled Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern, looks back at Dern’s decades-long journey in Hollywood. The actor, who turns 90 next month, attended the premiere on Thursday.

Speaking at Cannes alongside his daughter, actress Laura Dern, Bruce Dern reflected on his long career in films.

He recalled that acting legends Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg once warned him that he was unlikely to become a leading man in Hollywood. Instead, they advised him to become “the most honest and unique fifth cowboy on the right.”

Dern said he accepted that challenge and focused on building a lasting career.

The actor first visited Cannes with legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock during the release of Marnie. In 2013, he won the festival’s Best Actor award for his performance in Nebraska directed by Alexander Payne.

Laura Dern, who has often accompanied her father throughout his career, joined him once again at Cannes. She said many people used to tell her they “loved to hate” her father because of the memorable villain roles he played on screen.

Bruce Dern became famous for portraying intense and unpredictable characters in films such as The Cowboys, where he shot John Wayne, and Black Sunday, in which he played a troubled Vietnam War veteran planning an attack on the Super Bowl.

Acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino praised Dern in the documentary, calling him “one of the finest and most entertaining examples of great American acting.”

The documentary was directed by Mike Mendez, who described Dern as energetic and unpredictable during interviews, often moving from one story to another without warning.

Dern also spoke about his famous improvisations on film sets, which friends and colleagues nicknamed “Dernsies.” He credited actor Jack Nicholson for creating the term after noticing one of Dern’s spontaneous acting moments in the film Drive, He Said.

He also shared a memory from the set of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, saying actor Brad Pitt became emotional after one of his improvised lines during filming.

Despite his age, Dern said he has no plans to retire and wants to continue acting for as long as possible.

Over his career, Bruce Dern has appeared in more than 150 productions, including The Great Gatsby, Coming Home, The Hateful Eight and The 'Burbs. He has also received two Academy Award nominations.