Arrested Batman star Christian Bale ‘deeply depressed’ over Ledger’s death and personal stress

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Bale on bail: Batman star Christian leaving a central London police station after his arrest yesterday

Batman star Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his mother and sister after becoming depressed over strains in his marriage and the death of close friend Heath Ledger, it was claimed last night. 

 Bale, 34, is alleged to have pushed and shoved his mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, at the Dorchester Hotel on Sunday evening, a day before the blockbuster’s < ?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />London première.

Yesterday, the Welsh-born actor was arrested and bailed over the assault claim. 

 A source close to Bale said the incident comes at a time when his marriage to Sandra ‘Sibi’ Blazic, a former model and make-up artist, is enduring difficulties. 

 ‘He has stresses in his marriage’, the source said. ‘He can have a terrible temper. Instead of lashing out at his wife, he sometimes lashes out at people around him.’ 

 The source also claimed Bale had been deeply affected by the death from a drugs overdose of Ledger, who plays The Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight. 

He said: ‘Without Ledger around he’s found it more and more difficult to communicate with those around him, especially his family.’

In a recent interview Bale admitted that he has been depressed and has experienced bouts of insomnia.

 

 

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Yesterday he spent nearly five hours being questioned at Belgravia police station. The multi-millionaire actor, who shot to fame aged 13, refused to comment as he was driven back to the Dorchester in one of the hotel’s limousines.

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His spokesman said he denied the accusations against him and claimed that the assault allegation was made by Bale’s mother and sister.

Arrested: Bale, pictured on Monday night at the Dark Knight premiere in London with wife Sibi, is accused of assault

His lawyer said: ‘Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister.

‘Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale.’

However, talking to the Daily Mail yesterday, Bale’s mother Jenny insisted she was not the one who called police.

Sharon and Jenny Bale had travelled from their homes in Dorset to attend Monday night’s première in London’s Leicester Square.

They were in Bale’s hotel suite in Park Lane on Sunday when the actor allegedly angrily lashed out at them. Having been told about the incident, police waited until they had spoken to his alleged victims before taking action.

Sharon and Jenny Bale called at a Hampshire police station on Monday to make their statements, which were then passed on to then passed to the Metropolitan Police for further investigation.

Yesterday Bale agreed to be interviewed. He arrived at Belgravia police station at 11.40am and did not leave until 4.20pm. He was released on bail until September pending further inquiries.

Yesterday, at her £275,000, detached house in Southbourne, Dorset, Jenny Bale said: ‘Yes I was there and yes there was a family situation but the police are handling it and I cannot say any more at the moment. We didn’t call the police to the scene. I can’t say any more but we didn’t call the police.’

Friends: Bale, pictured with Heath Ledger at the after party of his film Rescue Dawn in June 2007, was deeply upset by the death of his friend and co-star in January

Computer programmer Sharon initially denied any knowledge of an assault, but then admitted there was ‘an incident’.

Talking at her £240,000 semi-detached home in nearby Wimborne she said: ‘There was an incident-but the police are dealing with it. It is an extremely sensitive situation.’

A source close to the actor who has spoken to him and family members in the last 24 hours says Bale is confident that he’s done nothing wrong, and blames his mother:

‘Christian’s attitude is that this was his mother’s fault because she became very provocative in an argument they were having,’ the source said. ‘Things got out of control and he says now he wishes he just left the room.

‘The thing that happened here was that normally Christian would just call a friend and go out to a pub to cool off. But he was literally trapped into this confrontation with his mother and sister because there was an army of fans and paparazzi outside.

‘He was feeling the stress, but he didn’t lay a finger on anyone. Instead, he flew off the handle and cussed his mother. He just got very loud because his mother was saying some very outrageous things about him, his wife and his child.’

The source added: ‘His marriage is not perfect, but his relationship with his mother is in much more trouble.

‘They’re going to need a ‘cooling off’ period because his mother said some pretty outrageous things to him that really set him off. He regrets the way she treated him in their argument a lot more than having to talk to police about it. Christian has admitted that something just snapped, but he didn’t threaten anyone with violence.

‘He’s under a lot of pressure right now and simply got incredibly loud with members of his family around. I think his wife is going to be very important to him after all this is over because she does, at the end of the day, know how to calm him down.’

 

Family drama: Bale’s mother Jenny, pictured left with the actor in 2000, and sister Sharon, right, outside her home in Dorset yesterday

But the shocking allegations came as no surprise to those close to Bale who is said to have endured a torrid recent period personally and professionally.

A friend said: ‘This is a guy who puts enormous pressure on himself without ever really asking for much of a support system. He’s almost like a piano soloist in that way, and it’s no wonder he just explodes sometime. But if his closest family members are turning him into police, he’s obviously crossed a line and needs to get some help.

‘As much as he’d like to act like he can do all this alone, the truth is, he can’t. Nobody can.’

Bale’s wife was by his side at the première, which was also attended by co- stars Sir Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart. Shortly after filming finished Heath Ledger, who plays psychotic villain The Joker, was found dead from an overdose of anti-depressants and sleeping tablets.

It was reported he found it hard to shake off the mental strains of the role, and told an interviewer he was having trouble sleeping.

The two actors, both known for being intense about their craft, formed a friendship when they both played Bob Dylan in the 2007 movie I’m Not There.

A friend said: ‘Christian pretends he’s calm and collected but you really started to see the cracks in his façade in January, right after Heath Ledger had died.

‘Christian was in the middle of a very brief break from work when he heard the news, and it was massive blow to him.

‘They had become very close during the making of ‘The Dark Knight’ and Christian went into virtual hiding for the six weeks after Heath was found dead.

‘He wasn’t returning phone calls and he wasn’t a happy man. It’s foolish to think that he’s been able to completely shake off that grief just as Heath and his work is finally being seen by audiences.

‘He expected to share this moment with his friend, and now he can’t.

Leading man: Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight   source dailymail.co.uk