Messi the dog from Anatomy of a Fall is the breakout star of the Oscars – but the ‘ugliest’ in his litter struggled to land an acting role for years after his trainer adopted him from a neighbour

Messi – the dog star of Anatomy of a Fall – was the standout star at the 96th annual Oscars ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday night. 

The seven-year-old collie from France made a surprise appearance in the audience where he was seen ‘clapping’ for Robert Downey Jr after his Best Supporting Actor win for Oppenheimer – in a moment that has since gone viral. 

He quickly became a firm favorite among guests and spectators alike, even earning a delighted nod of approval from Barbie star Ryan Gosling. 

Amid a slew of disasters from the show’s human attendees – as Al Pacino announced Oppenheimer as Best Picture without naming the other nominees, while Emma Stone suffered a wardrobe malfunction while claiming the prize for Best Actress in Poor Things – it was left to Messi to win over crowds. 

Messi flew over to LA from France in business class for the occasion with his trainer Laura Contini. 

On the night, he was the toast of Hollywood, cuddling up to the likes of Olivia Wilde, while Emma Stone and Gosling have also sung his praises. 

But his trainer Laura has revealed that his journey to stardom was not a simple one, partly down to his distinctive blue eyes and unusual looks. 

Laura adopted Messi when he was two months old from a neighbour – whose children had named him after the Argentine football player – and he’s the first dog she’s ever trained to be a cinema star. 

But the neighbour was surprised that Laura had chosen him, calling him the ‘ugliest dog’ of the litter – and it would take years of failing to crack the final stages of auditions before Messi landed his starring role.

Laura and Messi initially struggled to break into the film industry, and she calls her dog a ‘misunderstood artist’, meaning that he has only become a ‘canine celebrity’ later in life. 

Prior to Anatomy of a Fall, Messi had only landed French commercials like Pedigree, Truffaut, and a short film and music videos. Anatomy of a Fall was his breakout role and his ‘one chance’ to make it big, according to Laura. 

In an interview with IndieWire, Laura said their struggles were down to ‘something in his gaze or his eyes. [Anatomy of a Fall] is really the biggest film he’s ever made. He had one chance, and he gave it his all.

‘He gets calls now because he is now a star.’ 

She also told GQ: ‘He always went to the end of the auditions but was never accepted often because of his [unusual] look and his eyes.’ 

In French legal thriller Anatomy of a Fall, German actress Sandra Hüller plays a writer and a mother who is put on trial after her husband mysteriously falls to his death from the top floor of their chalet in the mountains. 

Messi stars as Snoop, the support dog of her blind 11-year-old son, Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), who becomes a major witness in the film’s court case scenes.

In the role of Snoop, Messi took part in several difficult scenes, including wandering through the house as police gather evidence, and lying on the bed next to Sandra near the end of the film.   

His most significant scene comes when tensions are at an all-time high: after being poisoned by Daniel, who is trying to gather evidence for the case, Snoop almost dies. 

Messi put on a world-class acting performance for the intense scene as he ‘played dead’ and managed to remain completely still even while being picked up.

Although it now seems like acting came naturally for Messi, in reality, Laura said it was a long and slow process and they had to start out by focusing on basics such as sitting, staying and lying down.

They then added cameras and boom mics so Messi would get used to the idea of being on a film set, as well as surrounding noise.

Laura worked hard to make sure Messi’s attention always stayed on her and managed it with the help of tasty treats. 

To land his coveted role in Anatomy Of A Fall, it took seven or eight in-person auditions, including a chemistry test with Milo, who plays Daniel. 

They trained every day for two months for the ‘playing dead’ scene, teaching him not to react even when being picked up, and managing to stick his tongue out to heighten the dead effect. 

On Sunday night at the Oscars, Anatomy of a Fall writers Justine Triet and Arthur Harari won the award for Best Original Screenplay, adding to a stellar awards season that has seen them claim, two Golden Globes, the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a BAFTA, also for Best Original Screenplay. 

But Messi himself was the star of the show – even featuring in a promotional video with Jimmy Kimmel before the ceremony began, where he barked at the comedian’s jokes. 

He also concluded the ceremony with a video of him appearing to wee on Matt Damon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

His starring moment came when he appeared to be ‘clapping’ the Iron Man star after his Best Supporting Actor win for Oppenheimer. 

While behind-the-scenes images revealed the moment to have been cleverly engineered with the use of two fake paws, that didn’t stop social media users from voicing their delight over the French dog’s appearance, with one hailing the pup as the ‘true star’ of this year’s ceremony. 

Other behind-the-scenes clips shared to social media that Messi’s ‘clapping’ moment had in fact been pre-recorded and was not part of the live Oscars broadcast, that didn’t stop the dog from becoming one of the most talked-about stars of the night. 

Some couldn’t help but gush over a clip that appears to show Ryan, 43, breaking into a huge grin at seeing the dog perched in his very own seat at the ceremony, looking incredibly dapper in a bow tie. 

Adding to seven-year-old Messi’s rising profile was a mention by host Jimmy Kimmel in his opening monologue, with the comedian joking that Messi ‘gave the performance of the year’. 

‘Messi, who even though he’s a dog, may have given the performance of the year in Anatomy of a Fall,’ Kimmel joked. ‘Messi has an overdose scene, if you’ve seen it you’ve known it. It’s incredible.

‘Honestly I haven’t seen a French actor eat his own vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu.’

Messi’s attendance at the ceremony came as a surprise to fans – after it was reported just days before the awards show that the French-based pooch would not travel to Los Angeles for the Oscars, despite already earning himself a reputation as one of this season’s most beloved guests. 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, a source from Anatomy of a Fall claimed that Border Collie Messi would not travel from his native France to California for the awards show. 

But as the ceremony began to kick off, Messi was seen making his way to a reserved seat alongside his trainer and owner Laura Martin, who sat beside the pup throughout the awards show. 

Earlier this year, Messi’s trainer Laura opened up about his sudden fame, explaining that the attention on her pup began at Cannes – but quickly skyrocketed in the US. 

‘All of this attention began at Cannes,’ she told The Hollywood Reporter. 

‘There were a few interviews in France but what we’ve been experiencing here in America — with the attention to this dog and his acting — it’s beyond anything we anticipated. It’s probably the maximum that you can accomplish in this field.’

Although Messi was not nominated for an Oscar, much to the upset of his biggest fans, he did walk away from this year’s Cannes Film Festival with an unofficial trophy: the Palm Dog – the canine equivalent to the prestigious Palme d’Or. 

Palm Dog awards have previously gone to the pooches of famous owners, such as Tilda Swinton and Quentin Tarantino – so Messi’s win from obscurity is unusual.  

After proving his acting chops in the five-time Oscar-nominated movie, Messi earned a place among some of this year’s biggest stars when he was invited to the annual nominees’ luncheon in Los Angeles – earning some one-on-one time with several A-list stars. 

‘The big moment was with Billie Eilish, who bonded with Messi for almost 10 minutes,’ trainer Laura told The Hollywood Reporter. 

‘They were hugging and petting and they really had a vibe. Then Bradley Cooper bumped into him in the hallway. The dog went right to him, so they also had a connection.’

Messi even reprised his ‘playing dead’ trick from Anatomy of a Fall, falling Gosling with his antics who rushed over to help him, before placing his hand over his heart when he realised Messi had only been pretending.

Emma Stone also could not believe it, telling Variety at the Oscars luncheon: ‘The dog pretended to die inside of the room! And everyone was really worried… but then the dog was like ‘hello’ and everybody was like ‘he’s an actor!’ It was crazy!’ 

The dog seems to have cemented his status amongst Hollywood royalty as he is gaining more and more A-list pals.  

At a live reading of the film last month, where he once again played Snoop, he also snuggled up to director Olivia Wilde. 

Messi seems to be enjoying life in the USA so far, and has spent time running along the sands of Venice Beach during his time in the USA – as documented by Laura on their Instagram account @lauraandmessi.  

Messi’s next role is set to be in a French TV show, although his trainer Laura said this is yet to be confirmed.