Last week, CHRISTIAN BALE should have been feeling on top of the world after his Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, smashed all box office records in its opening weekend. But the Brit hottie's glory was shattered when, last Sunday, his mum Jenny and sister Sharon both accused him of assault, sources on his new Terminator movie - in which Bale plays John Connor - claim the actor flew into a rage at the crew and rumours emerged that his marriage was in trouble.

Ahlan! looks into Christian's sudden stratospheric fame and wonders what's causing the cracks in his super-private movie star façade...

Sidelined from Batman
Hailed as Hollywood's new leading man, Christian's been sidelined in The Dark Knight due to all the focus on HEATH LEDGER's Joker, and Christian's even started publicly denying that he himself had anything to do with the film's success.

"Heath has really made this movie," he said. "The success of it... is really down to CHRIS NOLAN and to Heath."

Missing his friend
Sources close to Christian say he still hasn't come to terms with Heath's death. Having admitted, like Heath, to struggling with insomnia and depression, a close pal revealed, "Without Ledger around, he's found it more and more difficult to communicate with those around him." Adding, "He expected to share this moment with his friend."

Marriage troubles
He's admitted he married Sandra ‘Sibi' Blazic on a whim - "It was impulsive. We eloped and didn't tell anyone." Now it seems that marriage troubles could be adding to Christian's woes.

"He has stresses in his marriage," spilled the insider. "He can have a terrible temper. Instead of lashing out at his wife, he sometimes lashes out at people around him."

Cuts himself off
Famed throughout Hollywood for his method acting, Christian is, say close friends, a loner who often feels he can't share his troubles with anyone around him.

"This is a guy who puts enormous pressure on himself without ever really asking for much of a support system," said a pal. "As much as he'd like to act like he can do all this alone, the truth is, he can't. Nobody can."