Emmeline Lucas asks:
“I’m in the middle of watching Mad Men, and I’ve been very struck by what a large proportion of the actors are left handed. Are left handers more likely to become actors, I wonder?”
Sarah Knapton, Science Editor, replies:
Studies have linked left-handedness to creativity, which may be down to brain differences, or increased adaptivity from having to adjust to a right-handed world.
Around 10 per cent of people are left-handed, and although there is no list of left-handed actors, there is little indication the industry has more southpaws.
Of the key Mad Men actors, only January Jones is left-handed, with Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks and Vincent Kartheiser all right-handers.
Actors often appear left-handed on screen because they are facing the viewer, so a glass, cigarette etc in the right hand will appear to be in the left.
