DEPRESSION caused by the death of close friend Heath Ledger and the breakdown of his marriage are the reasons behind Christian Bale`s alleged assault on his family, it has been claimed.
Following his arrest for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister at a London hotel, a source close to Bale told the The Daily Mail the 34-year-old has been struggling to cope of late and has trouble controlling his anger.
"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 alleged that the death of his The Dark Knight co-star and close friend, Heath Ledger, was taking it`s toll on the star.
"Without Ledger around he`s found it more and more difficult to communicate with those around him, especially his family," the source said.
Bale, who has been released on bail, had previously admitted to suffering from depression and bouts of insomnia.
The Welsh-born performer, 34, riding high as Hollywood`s latest blockbuster film star, spent several hours at a London police station overnight before being released without charge, his Los Angeles-based spokeswoman, Jennifer Allen, 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," Ms Allen said.
"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."
She confirmed separately that the allegation was of assault, but said she knew no further details.
When asked if Bale had been arrested and released on bail, a police spokeswoman said: "A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September."
According to British media reports, Bale’s mother and sister went to police in London on Sunday night, a day before the European premiere of The Dark Knight.
The Sun newspaper said police did not question Bale immediately because they didn’t want to interfere with the movie’s premiere.
In The Dark Knight, Bale plays Bruce Wayne and his caped crime-fighting alter-ego Batman. The film, which also stars the late Heath Ledger as The Joker, took in a record $US158.4 million ($162.2 million) in its opening weekend in the US.
Bale was on the red carpet with co-stars Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal in central London`s Leicester Square on Monday night.
A spokeswoman for the film`s distributor, Warner Bros, said the police inquiry involving Bale would have no effect on the studio`s international press tour for the movie, which goes next to Barcelona then on to Tokyo.
"Everybody is continuing with business as usual," she said.
A martial arts enthusiast and environmental activist, Bale has often played troubled characters, first donning the cape and cowl of the brooding superhero Batman for the 2005 film Batman Begins.
Starting out as a child actor who appeared in Steven Spielberg`s 1987 World War II flop Empire of the Sun, he went on to such adult roles as a psychotic investment banker in American Psycho and a rancher who faces down a dangerous outlaw in last year`s western, 3:10 to Yuma.
- With Reuters
