The family of a man killed in a gruesome tiger attack at a UK tribute have paid tribute to the “dearly loved” child star.

William Chapman died on Saturday during a visit to Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster, UK, when he was attacked by a 190kg Siberian tiger named Altai.

Prior to the attack, witnesses described seeing the 23-year-old pace around the zoo with headphones on before he leaped into the enclosure.

One witness told the Daily Mail the man appeared agitated as he “psyched himself up” and performed a “dance” in the spectator area before he scaled the fence and jumped in.

As the horror unfolded, rangers fired two shots from a shotgun to scare the cat which retreated to its pen, before authorities rushed to the zoo.

Despite paramedics’ best efforts, Chapman was pronounced dead at the wildlife park, which was quickly evacuated.

As a child, he appeared in the British film May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, who played Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter series.

Chapman also starred in BBC series True Stories.

In a statement released on behalf of the 23-year-old’s family, published by the BBC, he was remembered as a “bright, warm” man.

“William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved — and William loved them back,” it read.

“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time.

“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their (utmost) to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”

They added that Chapman suffered from “significant mental illness” over a number of years and he was prescribed “strong medication”.

The family’s statement comes as US President Donald Trump shared the graphic attack video with his 13.1 million followers on Truth Social.

He captioned it, “Don’t ever mess with nature!”.

The President also shared an 23 second AI clip of himself inside the tiger enclosure chasing, tackling, and hugging the animal with a big grin on his face.

It has been met with widespread disgust by netizens, who have labelled Mr Trump as “unbelievably cruel”.

“Just unbelievably cruel —that young man lost his life. Using AI bulls..t to act like a tough guy? Disgusting,” wrote one.

“This cannot be real life,” added several others.

The tiger, Altai, has been at the park since March 2025.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the “Land of the Tigers” attraction opening in 2011.

The attraction is on a purpose-built two-acre reserve for endangered Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with around 500 left in the wild.

The park remains closed and it is unclear when it is expected to reopen.

Lifeline: 13 11 14.