Jimmy Kimmelused his Oscars monologue to give credit to one of this awards season’s breakout stars:Messi, the dog fromAnatomy of a Fall.
“If they decide to remake that film, I have just the guy to play Tim Allen’s part,” the late-night host said. Then the camera panned to Messi, sitting in the audience.
“Messi, who even though he’s a dog, may have given the performance of the year inAnatomy of a Fall,” Kimmel praised.
He continued, “Messi has an overdose scene, if you’ve seen it you’ve known it. It’s incredible.” He joked, “Honestly I haven’t seen a French actor eat his own vomit like that since Gérard Depardieu.”
Jimmy Kimmel during the 2024 Oscars.Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Anatomy of a Fallis nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture — though unfortunately none of those are for Messi’s performance. However, the famous pup did win the Palm Dog Award at theCannes Film Festivallast May.
Messi the dog in the audience at the 2024 Oscars.Kevin Winter/Getty
Kevin Winter/Getty
Despite his lack of nomination, Messi, whose character in the film was named Snoop, has been the toast of awards season. Heattended the February Oscars luncheon, where he met celebs and Oscar nominees includingRyan GoslingandBradley Cooper.
Jimmy Kimmel and Messi the dog.Jimmy Kimmel / Instagram
Jimmy Kimmel / Instagram
On Sunday, Kimmel and Messi also got some face time hours before the show began — debunking rumors the dog would not attend. The host shared a video onInstagramof a practice run of his jokes alongside Messi.
Though the dog seemingly wasn’t impressed with most of themm Kimmel tried another one: “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!" Messi barked his approval.
As for Messi’s performance, his trainer Laura Martin Contini toldIndieWirein February that he had to be highly trained to perform in the film. “Even the simplest things take a lot of work,” she explained.
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source: people.com
