Batman has given a name to his pain - Leonardo DiCaprio

BATMAN better add his ex-publicist to his rogue’s gallery. Harrison Cheung, who worked with Christian Bale for a decade, says the actor has a temper problem. And hates Leonardo DiCaprio.

Cheung has written a tell-all book about the alleged anger issues, which is in no way an attempt to cash in on the upcoming release of The Dark Knight Rises.

The book, modestly titled Christian Bale: The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman by the Man Who Helped Make Him a Phenomenon, claims that Bale:

- Has distanced himself from family and friends and has not spoken to his mother in more than four years;

- Used to reduce little girls who asked for his autograph to tears;

- Inherited his temper from his father.

Although stories about Bale's temper are nothing new - the guy who shot Terminator: Salvation knows never to interrupt the acting process again - Cheung's have the sliver of credibility if only for the fact he used to work for Bale.

But his attempts at tying to explain Bale's "pain" smack of comic-book psychology, with Bale's difficult relationship with his "overbearing" father reading like a secret origin plot for a villain:

"They both over-reacted out of proportion to any perceived offence. Christian would seethe and hiss like some surly snake. Once at an Enterprise Rent A Car just a few blocks down from their Manhattan Beach house, Christian was so loudly lecturing the woman at the desk and he was so angry that she started trembling and pointed to the security camera overhead for protection."

Cheung even has Bale storing animal foetuses in jars in his bedroom.

Like every good comic, the book has a nemesis: DiCaprio.

"DiCaprio. The name burned Christian like a branding iron. Over the years, Christian had lost This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape to DiCaprio.

"Christian had read for the part of Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet but was told that they had decided to cast an African American in the part instead.

"Christian too had gone up for the part of Jack Dawson in Titanic but was told that James Cameron didn’t want two British lead actors playing the two leads who were both supposed to be American."

Funnily enough, Warner Bros wanted DiCaprio to play the Riddler opposite Bale in the new Batman film.

Now that would have been epic fight: "Mummy, why is Batman stamping on the Riddler's head and saying. 'That's for Titanic'?"