Emile Hirsch has been charged with assault for an alleged confrontation with a female Paramount Pictures employee at the Sundance Film Festival in which he reportedly put her in a chokehold.

Emile Hirsch Charged

Hirsch, 29, stands accused of putting the woman, Daniele Bernfeld, in a chokehold and dragging her across the table at Tao Nightclub in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 25. According to the police report, an apparently intoxicated Hirsch approached Bernfeld and asked her why she looked “so tough,” reports ABC News. He then reportedly claimed she was a “rich kid who should not be at Sundance.”

After the initial confrontation, Hirsch left to hang out with friends before he came back to Bernfeld and allegedly grabbed her from behind and pulling her across the table, which led to them both ending up on the ground where Hirsch put her in a chokehold.

Hirsh has apparently told police that he was having an argument with Bernfeld, but that he was not previously acquainted with her. He also said that he had consumed about three to four drinks prior to the confrontation. Police at the scene claimed that the actor seemed heavily intoxicated.

Hirsch will have to make his first court appearance in Park City March 16. The assault charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

In light of the events at Sundance, Hirsch has entered into a rehab facility.  “Emile consumed an enormous amount of alcohol on the evening in question and he has no memory of what happened,” his lawyer said in a statement. “Emile takes these allegations very seriously, and is devastated that any of this has occurred. A few days after the incident, Emile sought help and checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation facility, where he remains today, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

The actor, best known for playing Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild, was at the Sundance Film Festival to promote his new drama Ten Thousand Saints.