Hotdog Fingers

Shooting an Academy award winning film the night before Covid closed the world

I’ll never forget the email that landed in my inbox:

OFFER — AARON LAZAR — Feature Film — Everything Everywhere All at Once — ROLE: "Hot Dog Fingers, Musical Theater Man."

I didn’t love that character name. Trying to build a movie career, I figured that "Hot Dog Fingers" probably wouldn’t look great on my IMDb credits page. But I had also learned my lesson from The Wolf of Wall Street: there’s no such thing as a small part in a great film.

I hadn’t heard of the Daniels, the directors. But when I watched their work online, I was blown away. They even included a personal note in the offer:

Dear Aaron,
We’re such fans of your work and think you would be wonderful in this part. We know reading the script might be a little confusing, but we really hope you will join us.

They were right. The script was incomprehensible to me at the time. I certainly didn’t have a fleshed-out concept of the multiverse, the unified field of consciousness, or the spiritual principle of SUB EK — All is One. I marvel at how the universe gave me the opportunity to be part of this movie just before I would embark on a transformative healing journey that would teach me these things.

I arrived on set at one of downtown L.A.’s historic old movie theaters. It was Friday, March 13, 2020. Rumors were swirling about a virus originating in China that had made its way to the U.S. But who knew?
I put on my costume — a 1940s King and I-esque war hero — slicked back my hair, and headed off to meet the directors and my brilliant co-star in the scene, actress Sunita Mani.

As a production assistant escorted me through the theater to the grand ballroom, I passed hundreds of extras dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns. I remembered from the script: this was the scene where Michelle Yeoh’s character attends a movie premiere. All the extras were Asian, which respectfully raised my concern that, if a virus had indeed made its way over from China, I might now be exposing myself to an increased risk.

On set, we had a blast choreographing the short musical dance and song that Sunita and I perform together. Then the head of props came over to show us... the hot dog fingers.

Having no idea they would become an iconic part of the film, I just thought they were hilarious. They were connected to ketchup and mustard pumps off camera, and we were instructed to put on the prosthetic hot dog finger gloves. When we got to a certain part of the song, ketchup and mustard would shoot out of the fingertips as we erotically put them in each other’s faces. A hilarious setup indeed!

Michelle Yeoh happened to watch us film this scene and was kind enough to shoot a cell phone video. Here it is — a little behind-the-scenes footage of just how much fun we had. My favorite is Daniel Kwan cracking up at the end.

I remember the assistant director who was in charge of handing us the hot dog fingers was sneezing and coughing. He must’ve caught me eyeing him with concern, because he quickly defended himself:
"Don’t worry — it’s not COVID. It’s just allergies."

Meanwhile, he was handling the very hot dog fingers we were supposed to put in our mouths. I asked if they could provide some wipes to clean them off — and thankfully, they did. (It would be a couple years before I would get Covid.)

I had an incredible time with the Daniels, with Sunita, and meeting Michelle — who absolutely deserved that Oscar, as did the film. I’m truly honored to have been even a small part of A24’s highest grossing film of all time.

But it’s a miracle the film ever came out. That night was their last night of shooting; the next day was supposed to be their final day of principal photography. But that day, COVID shut down the world. All production stopped.

I spent the following year wondering if the film had been able to be completed. It was pure joy when I learned that not only had they finished it — it was receiving spectacular critical and popular acclaim, and went on to earn multiple Academy awards, and earn the cast, myself included, a SAG award for best ensemble. Thank you again to the Daniels, Sarah Finn, and Jason Stamey.

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