(07-23) 04:00 PDT London - --
The darkness around Batman has deepened: While audiences were shattering weekend box-office records in the United States, Christian Bale was in London, where his mother and sister reportedly leveled assault allegations against the star of "The Dark Knight" that have yet to become clear.
The Wales-born actor said the allegations were false Tuesday, hours after he was arrested, questioned by London police and released on bail. Bale, 34, spent four hours talking with authorities but was not charged.
British media reported that Bale's mother and sister told police he assaulted them at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Sunday night, a day before attending the European premiere of "The Dark Knight." The Sun newspaper said the complaint was filed by sister Sharon Bale and mother Jenny Bale.
"Christian Bale attended a London police station today on a voluntary basis," read a statement from Bale's lawyer, Simon Smith, of the London-based firm Schillings. "Bale, who denies the allegation, cooperated 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."
A woman thought to be Bale's sister Sharon told reporters "it's a family matter" from her home in Corfe Mullen, 110 miles southwest of London. A man who answered the door at the home of Jenny Bale in nearby Bournemouth said she did not want to comment.
The reports surfaced just days after "The Dark Knight," which co-stars the late Heath Ledger as Batman's nemesis the Joker, took a record $158.4 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Asked Tuesday whether Bale had been arrested, a London police spokesman did not refer to him by name but said: "A 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault."
The spokesman requested anonymity because he is not authorized to be identified under police policy. British police do not name suspects who have not been formally charged.
The police force later said in a statement that the man had been released on bail pending further inquiries and told to return in September. It did not specify the date.
This article appeared on page A - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
The darkness around Batman has deepened: While audiences were shattering weekend box-office records in the United States, Christian Bale was in London, where his mother and sister reportedly leveled assault allegations against the star of "The Dark Knight" that have yet to become clear.
The Wales-born actor said the allegations were false Tuesday, hours after he was arrested, questioned by London police and released on bail. Bale, 34, spent four hours talking with authorities but was not charged.
British media reported that Bale's mother and sister told police he assaulted them at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Sunday night, a day before attending the European premiere of "The Dark Knight." The Sun newspaper said the complaint was filed by sister Sharon Bale and mother Jenny Bale.
"Christian Bale attended a London police station today on a voluntary basis," read a statement from Bale's lawyer, Simon Smith, of the London-based firm Schillings. "Bale, who denies the allegation, cooperated 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."
A woman thought to be Bale's sister Sharon told reporters "it's a family matter" from her home in Corfe Mullen, 110 miles southwest of London. A man who answered the door at the home of Jenny Bale in nearby Bournemouth said she did not want to comment.
The reports surfaced just days after "The Dark Knight," which co-stars the late Heath Ledger as Batman's nemesis the Joker, took a record $158.4 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Asked Tuesday whether Bale had been arrested, a London police spokesman did not refer to him by name but said: "A 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault."
The spokesman requested anonymity because he is not authorized to be identified under police policy. British police do not name suspects who have not been formally charged.
The police force later said in a statement that the man had been released on bail pending further inquiries and told to return in September. It did not specify the date.
This article appeared on page A - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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