kinds of inquiries, David knew, would send his son scurrying into a corner.
Christian was still flying back and forth between London and L.A. as he would finish a project, go ââhomeâ to visit his girlfriend, Natalie, and his mum, then back âhomeâ to L.A. for any auditions David and the agent had arranged. This multinational arrangement added to Christianâs internal debate about his future. No surprise, while he was in England, Jenny and Natalie warned Christian to be careful with his money. It was clear to them that David had control of all his funds. And when Christian was back in California, David started his own attack, reminding Christian that his mother was excessively English in her negativity and didnât have confidence in her sonâs abilities as an actor.
Christian, David, and Louise often complained about English negativity compared to Americaâs can-do spirit. David was particularly anti-England, especially when he lived there under the Conservative Thatcher era. He felt that England was still very class consciousâin particular, how oneâs accent, whetherit be posh or Cockney, could betray your education and social standing. âWho decided,â David wondered, âthis English system of haves and have-nots?â In fact, Christian agreed with his father after his post-Empire of the Sun fallout. It seemed that people were happy to see him failâback to his station, if you will. But the unpredictability of possible Hollywood movie stardom meant that a poor kid from Wales could suddenly catapult into fame and fortune.
Long an influence in her brotherâs life, elder sister Louise had this to say about living in America versus England: âI love living in America, and especially in Los Angeles, I love this city. I much prefer the weather, the lifestyle, the ocean, and the variety of people. I donât miss the English weather, or the negativity which is very prevalent in the cities.â
The tug-of-war between David and Jenny over Christian swung decidedly in Davidâs favor in 1992. When Christian returned to Bournemouth from a trip to Switzerland in January, he discovered that his two beloved pets, a cat named Kouky and a bird named Percy, were gone.
âChristian was so depressed,â David recalled, âbut I told him that it wasnât his fault. In fact, I blamed his mum, Jenny, for not caring enough, for not being responsible.â To assuage his sonâs pain, David bought Christian instructional sex books and CDs of rave music for his eighteenth birthday.
Jenny made a fateful decision to take a mother-son vacation to Morocco in the spring of 1992 after Newsiesâ disastrous opening weekend. She wanted to spend some quality time with her son as she felt it was the end of an era. Her little boy was now an eighteen-year-old young man. If David was right, Christian was on the cusp of stardom in Hollywood. But if she was right, Christian could very well buckle under the pressure and competition and return to England in defeat. Jenny was very annoyed that David had saddled Christian with the mortgage on the house inManhattan Beach. David could not legally work. Student Louise was not working. It seemed pretty obvious (to her, at least) that David was using Christian to pursue his own dreams of living in America. That entire home base in America was all dependent on her son, and if David wasnât careful, Christian could have another breakdown from the same kinds of pressure he had experienced during the doomed Empire of the Sun junket.
On May 17, 1992, just days after Christian and Jenny returned from their Morocco vacation, and two days after David had bought the house on Oak Avenue, Christian was admitted to emergency at Poole Hospital in Bournemouth. He was vomiting violently and had serious diarrhea. Since he had just returned from Morocco, the doctors suspected that he had drunk or eaten something contaminated. In
Christian was still flying back and forth between London and L.A. as he would finish a project, go ââhomeâ to visit his girlfriend, Natalie, and his mum, then back âhomeâ to L.A. for any auditions David and the agent had arranged. This multinational arrangement added to Christianâs internal debate about his future. No surprise, while he was in England, Jenny and Natalie warned Christian to be careful with his money. It was clear to them that David had control of all his funds. And when Christian was back in California, David started his own attack, reminding Christian that his mother was excessively English in her negativity and didnât have confidence in her sonâs abilities as an actor.
Christian, David, and Louise often complained about English negativity compared to Americaâs can-do spirit. David was particularly anti-England, especially when he lived there under the Conservative Thatcher era. He felt that England was still very class consciousâin particular, how oneâs accent, whetherit be posh or Cockney, could betray your education and social standing. âWho decided,â David wondered, âthis English system of haves and have-nots?â In fact, Christian agreed with his father after his post-Empire of the Sun fallout. It seemed that people were happy to see him failâback to his station, if you will. But the unpredictability of possible Hollywood movie stardom meant that a poor kid from Wales could suddenly catapult into fame and fortune.
Long an influence in her brotherâs life, elder sister Louise had this to say about living in America versus England: âI love living in America, and especially in Los Angeles, I love this city. I much prefer the weather, the lifestyle, the ocean, and the variety of people. I donât miss the English weather, or the negativity which is very prevalent in the cities.â
The tug-of-war between David and Jenny over Christian swung decidedly in Davidâs favor in 1992. When Christian returned to Bournemouth from a trip to Switzerland in January, he discovered that his two beloved pets, a cat named Kouky and a bird named Percy, were gone.
âChristian was so depressed,â David recalled, âbut I told him that it wasnât his fault. In fact, I blamed his mum, Jenny, for not caring enough, for not being responsible.â To assuage his sonâs pain, David bought Christian instructional sex books and CDs of rave music for his eighteenth birthday.
Jenny made a fateful decision to take a mother-son vacation to Morocco in the spring of 1992 after Newsiesâ disastrous opening weekend. She wanted to spend some quality time with her son as she felt it was the end of an era. Her little boy was now an eighteen-year-old young man. If David was right, Christian was on the cusp of stardom in Hollywood. But if she was right, Christian could very well buckle under the pressure and competition and return to England in defeat. Jenny was very annoyed that David had saddled Christian with the mortgage on the house inManhattan Beach. David could not legally work. Student Louise was not working. It seemed pretty obvious (to her, at least) that David was using Christian to pursue his own dreams of living in America. That entire home base in America was all dependent on her son, and if David wasnât careful, Christian could have another breakdown from the same kinds of pressure he had experienced during the doomed Empire of the Sun junket.
On May 17, 1992, just days after Christian and Jenny returned from their Morocco vacation, and two days after David had bought the house on Oak Avenue, Christian was admitted to emergency at Poole Hospital in Bournemouth. He was vomiting violently and had serious diarrhea. Since he had just returned from Morocco, the doctors suspected that he had drunk or eaten something contaminated. In
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