A former child actor who once shared the screen with a Harry Potter star was mauled to death by a Siberian tiger after vaulting into its enclosure at an English wildlife park.
William Chapman, 23, jumped the fence into the habitat of a 420-pound Siberian tiger named Altai at Yorkshire Wildlife Park around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The tiger clamped onto his neck and dragged him out of sight as stunned visitors watched.
The New York Post reported that park staff fired two shots into the ground to drive the animal back, raised a black screen around the exhibit, and shuttered the park for the rest of the weekend. First responders found Chapman lifeless at the scene.
The Doncaster native had trained at Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe and appeared opposite Shirley Henderson, best known as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, in the 2009 ITV comedy-drama “May Contain Nuts.” He also played Edward Jenner in a 2012 BBC series. He had no other major television credits.
Video circulating on X, viewed more than 11 million times, captured Chapman pacing near the enclosure with headphones in, dancing, and asking strangers to photograph him with the tiger.
“Excuse me, can you grab a shot of myself with the tiger?” he asked. He followed with “One more, one more, one more!” and “Thank you, lady.”
Then he vaulted the fence, dropped to his knees in the main viewing area, and faced the animal. Eyewitness Anthony Hunt described the scene to the Times of London.
"It looked like a performance. He got down where everyone could see him in the main viewing area. He was on all fours, praying and bowing down to the tiger. It was like he was waiting for the tiger."
Hunt said Chapman spread his arms wide open “like he was saying: ‘Come here tiger. Kill me.’” The tiger attacked. Chapman fought back and screamed. “It was like he was just detached from reality. The last thing we saw, the tiger was on his neck.”
Another witness said Chapman yelled “No” and waved a finger at the animal before it seized him by the neck. Staff reached the enclosure quickly and fired the warning shots. The entire sequence unfolded in moments.
Sudden animal attacks leave little room for escape, as recent bear encounters have shown.
Breitbart reported that Chapman’s family said he had suffered from significant mental illness for years and was prescribed strong medication.
"William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication."
The family added that they are “utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.” Relatives also expressed distress over the viral footage of his final minutes.
No official motive for entering the enclosure has been stated. Friends had described him as emotionally distraught beforehand. Authorities continue to investigate alongside park officials.
Wild animals remain unpredictable even behind barriers, a reality underscored when a child was bitten by an alligator after posted warnings were ignored.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park issued a brief statement after the killing.
"We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened. The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority."
“Tiger King” figure Carole Baskin released a written statement urging restraint. She said the tiger “was not doing anything wrong by being a tiger” and expressed relief the animal was unharmed.
"What we do know is that a tiger is a powerful wild predator, and no amount of captivity, training, or familiarity can change that."
Baskin added that full circumstances remain unknown and speculation would be wrong. Altai stayed inside the enclosure throughout; staff focused on separating the animal from Chapman rather than harming it.
Tragic animal incidents can end just as suddenly for the creatures involved, including a black bear that died after trapping itself in a car.
Chapman’s early path ran through a stage school that also produced James Corden, Eddie Redmayne, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. “May Contain Nuts” cast him as Alfie Chaplin opposite Henderson and Darren Boyd. The BBC role as Edward Jenner followed three years later. After that, public credits largely stopped.
On Saturday he appeared upbeat to some onlookers, dancing, requesting photos, before the leap. Hunt’s account and the second witness description both pointed to behavior that looked disconnected from the danger in front of him. The park’s barriers did not stop a determined vault. Two warning shots came only after the tiger already had him by the neck.
Dangerous animals kept near the public demand constant vigilance from both institutions and visitors; cities already struggle with that balance when unleashed dogs maul people on city streets.
Chapman leaves behind a family grappling with mental illness, medication, and a death captured on phones and replayed millions of times. The park remains closed pending the authority review. Altai is still a captive Siberian tiger. No amount of fencing changes what a predator does when a person drops into its space and waits.
Wild animals do not negotiate, and enclosures only work when people stay on the right side of them.