Messi the Dog Will Reportedly Skip the Oscars (and That’s OK)

Are Academy voters such rabid cynophiles that the presence of a nominated film’s featured hound could give it an “unfair advantage”? That’s the claim floated for why Messi, who played Snoop in this year’s quintuple-nominee, Anatomy of a Fall, will likely be skipping Sunday’s Academy Awards. But before you boo those alleged dog-hating cranks, ask yourself this: are you disappointed for Messi, or for yourself?

Thanks to extremely important website Does the Dog Die, even those who have yet to watch the French film can confirm that Messi, a seven-year-old border collie, did not have to play completely dead in the nonetheless upsetting movie. His performance in a scene where he almost gives up the ghost has drawn raves, with the BBC describing his work in the movie as “one for the canine canon.” 

Messi and trainer Laura Martin Contini prepared for that scene every day for two months, she told IndieWire. “It’s a true profession,” Martin Contini said of non-human performances. “Any time you see a dog or an animal on screen, it’s the result of a long process of preparation, even if the dog is just laying down.” 

As awards season has continued, we’ve had the chance to see Messi in circumstances that are far less controlled—and during which he’s acquitted himself admirably. Most notably, perhaps, there’s the now-viral footage of fellow actor Ryan Gosling meeting Messi at the Academy nominees luncheon. He also met Billie Eilish, America Ferrera, and Bradley Cooper at the event, which apparently disconcerted some of Anatomy of a Fall‘s competitors, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

“Multiple companies with nominated films complained to the Academy that allowing him to attend the event gave Anatomy of a Fall an advantage during the voting window,” the publication claimed, citing “a source with knowledge of the complaints.” That’s prompted some to link those alleged complaints to a decision (which Vanity Fair has not been able to independently confirm) to keep Messi away from the Oscars.

Dogs have certainly attended the Academy Awards in the past, most notably Uggie, the star of 2012 winner The Artist. Arguably the last dog to receive Messi-level accolades, the Jack Russell died in 2015 (and was controversially excluded from the Oscars’ In Memoriam tribute the following year). 

Actor Jean Dujardin, director Michel Hazanavicius, actors James Cromwell, Uggie the dog, Berenice Bejo, Penelope Ann Miller, and Missi Pyle, and producer Thomas Langmann pose in the press room at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.

Steve Granitz