Could Christian Bale Be Heading Down The Same Path as Heath Ledger?

Christian Bale Taking Same Steps as Tragic Friend

As more information comes in about the Christian Bale assault charges, details about the toll co-star Heath Ledger's death and the filming of The Dark Knight had on the star are revealing themselves.

A friend of Bale's told UK's The Daily Mail about the impact Ledger's death had on Bale: "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."


Heath Ledger and Christian Bale at a wrap party in 2007

Heath and Christian had many things in common. Both showed a serious intensity in their acting techniques. Heath locked himself away in a hotel room to cultivate his role as the Joker in the $158 million blockbuster that would be his last film. Christian lost an astonishing 60 pounds to play the role in The Machinist. He reportedly wanted to lose more, but the filmmakers refused for his safety. The drastic change made preparing for his career-making role in Batman Begins in 2004 all the more difficult.

Heath and Christian reportedly became very good friends during the filming of Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There. According to the friend, Heath was Christian's confidante when problems with his family were rough. "Without Ledger around, he's found it more and more difficult to communicate with those around him, especially his family."

Playing Batman has taken a serious toll on Christian, much like the Joker did on Heath Ledger. He had told an interviewer recently that he was suffering bouts of depression and insomnia. Heath Ledger also suffered insomnia, reportedly sleeping only two hours a night and taking two Ambien pills to help alleviate the issue. The autopsy after his death showed that some of the medications he overdosed on were used to treat insomnia, along with pain and depression.

I appreciate the brilliant performances Christian Bale delivers (his Batman is the most interesting and complex to date, quite frankly), but I hope he can get a handle on any issues with depression and insomnia before its too late. I also hope that whatever family problems he has can be resolved.

First and third photo courtesy of Daily Mail Online.