The most popular celebrity at the 2024 Oscars isn’t Margot Robbie, or Emma Stone, or Cillian Murphy. It’s Messi the dog from Anatomy of a Fall. He even made a cameo during host Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue, looking like a fancy lil’ gentleman. “Even though he’s a dog, [Messi] may have given the performance of the year in Anatomy of a Fall,” Kimmel said. “He has an overdose scene. I haven’t seen a French actor each vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu.”
This is a good way to raise ratings for the future: invite fewer humans and more dogs.
Messi in the audience at the #Oscars.
pic.twitter.com/RwFUCRhRyL— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 10, 2024
This seat’s taken.
ANATOMY OF A FALL’s Messi has arrived at the #Oscars2024! pic.twitter.com/42vJcyAmIM
— NEON (@neonrated) March 10, 2024
Messi on the #Oscars telecast.
See the full winners list: https://t.co/IctYZ9WO3B pic.twitter.com/JD58hY6rSQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 10, 2024
“All of this attention began at Cannes,” Messi’s trainer Laura Martin told the Hollywood Reporter (Anatomy premiered at Cannes). “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.” The biggest interaction between human and dog was with “Billie Eilish, who bonded with Messi for almost 10 minutes,” she continued. “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.”
Anatomy of a Fall, which is up for five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, comes to Hulu on March 22.