Messi, the dog who plays Snoop in 'Anatomy of a Fall,' and his trainer Laura Martin joined The Hollywood Reporter to reveal how they brought Snoop's near-death scene to life in the Oscar-nominated film. Director and co-writer Justine Triet and star Sandra Hüller also spoke to THR about Messi's acclaimed performance in the film. Plus, Messi recreated his iconic scene and showed us his other best tricks.
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00:00 "Lift his body. Oh yeah, he's acting like dead weight."
00:04 An unlikely star has emerged this awards season in Messi,
00:07 the dog who plays Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall, which is nominated for five Oscars.
00:11 At the Oscars nominees' lunch, Messi was the toast of the event,
00:16 getting pets from the likes of stars like Ryan Gosling and Billie Eilish.
00:20 "He has a gaze, he has a really a soul in the movie. So maybe it's because of this that people
00:29 could see him like a real actor." "And they do, obviously."
00:36 Messi's performance in one scene in the film in particular, where Snoop nearly dies,
00:41 has blown audiences away. Messi's trainer, Laura, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter through her
00:45 translator about how she prepared her dog for what many have called an award-worthy performance.
00:57 "So it's a really step-by-step process. It just started simply by just laying down and then,
01:03 you know, playing dead. But then also there had to be an action of him being,
01:07 you know, kind of lifted up. And then one day she was out playing ball with him and he came back
01:15 tired and he laid down and his tongue hung out. And that was the kind of spark, like, that's what
01:20 needs to happen to make it look realistic. And then any time they had a chance with the on-set,
01:25 with the young actor, they trained together. And so when it came time to film, they all knew what
01:34 needed to happen." Director Justine Trier also told THR how she brought the scene to life.
01:39 "I think it was one of the most stressful scenes for us to prepare. The boy has to really be
01:48 nervous. So it was very contrasted in a way and so complicated, you know, to keep the dog very calm
01:55 and to have at the same time the boy in this situation. So we did a lot of rehearsal before.
02:03 And yeah, we chose the dog not for his beauty or his appearance, but for his ability to do things.
02:15 And I think it's crazy, but it's the only scene in the movie where all the team was crying at the
02:23 same time because it was too, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know why. The team was really,
02:32 really attached to this dog." "Yeah, same feeling. Yeah, same too. When I saw the film for the first
02:37 time, that was the scene that touched me the most." Laura revealed Messi went through around
02:42 seven auditions before landing the role of Snoop. During our interview,
02:45 she demonstrated how she trained Messi for his big scene.
02:49 "Take the shoulder and after you put the dog...
02:53 Plus, she even let me reenact the scene with him.
03:14 Lie your hand under his shoulder bone. Okay. Like that. Oh, he's got the tongue. He knows to do it.
03:21 You can lift his body. Oh, yeah. He's acting like dead weight."
03:29 No surprise, Messi can do more than just play dead. He also showed us his other best tricks.
03:35 "Bravo. Stand up. That's it. Hide yourself. Hide yourself. Bravo. That's it. Stand up. Stand up. Turn. Yes. Turn. Yes. Back, back, back, back. Don't move.
03:50 Bravo. That's it.
03:55 For more on Messi's award season journey and Anatomy of a Fall, head to THR.com.
04:02 For The Hollywood Reporter, I'm Tiffany Taylor.