Considering approximately 10 percent of Americans are left-handed, a surprising number of celebrities possess this rare trait. Is popular actor Jason Bateman among them?
Jason Bateman is left-handed. This is visible in both his onscreen roles and numerous photographs online of him signing autographs left-handed. There is also video evidence in the form of him painting with his left hand.
For further explanation of Jason Bateman’s handedness and the evidence that confirms his status as a southpaw, read on.
Holding Things
Jason Bateman has frequently displayed that he favors his left hand to both hold objects and write. There are numerous examples of this, beginning with his earliest appearances as a child actor and continuing into the present day.
His Emmy award win in 2019 is problematic. Bateman collects the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for an episode of “Ozark” by walking onto the stage and holding the trophy, then giving a speech.
He initially holds the trophy in his left hand, as we would expect from a left-handed person. The issue is complicated by the fact he then transfers the award to his right hand during his speech, although it’s possible that he is only doing this to point at it with his left hand.
The trophy is also probably quite heavy and perhaps his left arm quickly tires. In any case, this holding of the trophy in each hand is an impressive display of Bateman being at least somewhat ambidextrous.
A 2018 interview with Ellen Degeneres offers another clue as to Bateman’s handedness. Throughout the interview, he wears his watch on his right wrist. While not a universal rule, it is generally considered more appropriate to wear a watch on a person’s left dominant arm.
This is because the watch is more likely to get damaged if worn on the arm that is used more frequently, a potential hazard while wearing an expensive piece of wrist jewelry.
Writing Things
As is often the case, the strongest evidence as to whether or not a celebrity is right or left-handed is finding photos or footage of them writing something.
Fortunately, this is usually very easy with Hollywood stars as they are regularly asked to sign autographs for their fans. Jason Bateman is no exception to this as there are multiple photos of him signing autographs.
One such photo was posted on the r/southpaws Subreddit, dedicated to left-handed individuals. The photo shows Bateman signing autographs, holding his pen in his left hand.
While this could have been mirrored by a user in an attempt to claim Bateman as one of their own, we can clearly see the name of the Los Angeles Film School in the background in large lettering.
An even clearer example can be seen in a video of Bateman and “Game Night” costar Sharon Horgan painting portraits of each other. Bateman, though he does not display a great deal of artistic precision, holds the paintbrush with his left hand.
Between initially collecting his Emmy with his left hand, wearing his watch on his right hand, and both writing and painting with his left hand, the only logical conclusion is that Bateman is indeed left-handed. With all this evidence, Jason Bateman can be added with confidence to the long list of southpaw celebrities.