Meet Messi, the ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Dog That Stole the Show at the 2024 Oscars

The one thing on everybody's mind watching the 2024 Oscars is who is the adorable dog in the audience? Meet Messi, the dog actor in The Academy Award nominated film, The Anatomy of a Fall.

On Sunday (Mar. 10), the 2024 Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. During the opening monologue, host Jimmy Kimmel pointed out Messi, who attended the awards show in a bowtie alongside his trainer and owner, Laura Martin Contini. He began by mentioning Robert Downey Jr.'s less exciting roles, including a mention of The Shaggy Dog, the Disney film where Tim Allen turns into a dog.

“If they decide to remake that film, I have just the guy to play Tim Allen’s part,” Kimmel said before the camera panned to Messi sitting in his very own seat in the first section of the theater. “Messi, who even though he’s a dog, may have given the performance of the year in Anatomy of a Fall. 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."

Although The Anatomy of a Fall is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Messi himself isn't technically nominated for the coveted award. Despite the evident oversight on the voters' part, Messi did recently win the Palm Dog Award at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

Prior to the telecast, Kimmel was seen backstage practicing his jokes with Messi before the show began. The pooch looked unimpressed with his comedic style.

"If you think the show feels overly drawn out to you, imagine how Messi feels right now. In dog years, this show is five and a half months long!" Kimmel said before Messi agreed with a bark.

READ MORE: See the Full List of 2024 Academy Awards Winners

After seeing Messi looking dapper in the bowtie and realizing that he wouldn't conclude the night as an Oscar winner, the internet decided to make him go viral. One fan was even hoping for a Kanye West and Taylor Swift 2009 VMA's moment moment where Downey Jr. would be cut off by another actor who says that Messi deserves the Best Supporting Actor award instead of RDJ.

See social media reactions to the pooch, below.