Bruce Dern and Will Forte as Woody and David Grant in ‘Nebraska’

Congrats to Bruce Dern, father of Laura Dern (Jurassic Park). He has won the Best Actor award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, for his honest and gut-wrenching performance as Woody, the drunken, crotchety Korean War vet, in Alexander Payne’s melancholy drama, Nebraska.

At 76 years old, this is Bruce Dern’s first time in the spotlight. He has played supporting roles (usually the villain), his entire career, from 1974’s The Great Gatsby  to 2012’s Django Unchained. Steven Spielberg was president of the Cannes jury this year. He, along with fellow jury members Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee, and Christoph Waltz are responsible for voting Bruce Dern as this year’s Best Actor.

Nebraska focuses on Woody (Bruce Dern), an aged man seeking dignity and a million dollar lottery jackpot he mistakenly believes he holds the winning ticket for. His wife, June Squibb, is a callous and abusive woman who sees the worst in everyone. David (Will Forte), Woody’s weak-willed but loving son, consents to driving his dad from Billings, Montana, to Lincoln, Nebraska – where Woody’s imagined windfall awaits him. The road trip leads Woody and David through old memories, stopping along the way to visit long lost relatives and graveyards.

The film is scheduled to premiere November 22,  in the U.S.