The 2024 Oscars were star-studded, as always. But this time it wasn’t the actor or shocking outfit that stole the show, it was Messi. No, it wasn’t football legend Lionel Messi. The star of the 2024 Oscars was Messi, a 7-year-old border collie who played a key role in the Oscar-winning film Anatomy of the Fall.
Messi was also seen rehearsing his lines with the night’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, despite media reports suggesting the four-legged star would not be able to take part in the grand event. . Not only that, but the canine star was also given a special seat at the event.
Viewers could see Messi getting yelled at by Kimmel during his opening monologue. “Messi might have given the best performance of the year in Anatomy of a Fall, even if he’s a dog. He has an overdose scene, the first French movie since Gerard Depardieu. I’ve never seen an actor eat vomit like that,” Kimmel said in his opening monologue.
The scene Kimmel talks about in his monologue is when Daniel intentionally gives Snoop an aspirin that causes side effects. In Anatomy of a Fall, Messi plays Snoop, the guide dog to blind boy Daniel, who discovers his father, Samuel, who has fallen to his death through an open attic window. The film follows a murder trial in which Sandra becomes the prime suspect in her husband’s death.
In addition to accepting the award, the border collie was also spotted at the Oscars Luncheon on February 12th, where she met stars such as Billie Eilish and Ryan Gosling. Commenting on Messi’s Oscar appearance, Messi’s owner and trainer Laura Martin Contini told USA Today:[An Oscar win]will draw attention to the profession itself. ”
Contini also talked about some great moments from the awards night. “The big moment was with Billie Eilish, bonding with Messi for almost 10 minutes,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
She also said that the two were seen hugging each other and there was a “really great vibe”. Bradley Cooper, who was last seen with Maestro, also met Messi in the hallway. According to Contini, the two hit it off right away. Messi was also a highlight of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, winning the unofficial show “Palm Dog”.