Messi is a seven-year-old border collie with black and white fur and ice-colored eyes. He plays Scoop, the guide dog of the child protagonist, who is left almost blind after an accident.
Ryan Gosling was scared when he fell to the ground and pretended to be dead, as he does in a heartbreaking scene in the film. "It took two months of daily training to teach him to let himself go on dead weight, his eyes rolled back and his tongue hanging out," explained his trainer.