Sir Mark Rylance was given a standing ovation as he thanked his audience following his last West End performance ahead of his leave of absence.
The 62-year-old star was called back to the stage three times to accept the applause.
He actor jumped, waved his hands and clapped to thank theatre goers for their support during his heartache.
The Oscar-winning actor was word-perfect in the lead role in the hit show Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre.
Sir Mark has been widely praised for his performance as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron in the production of Jez Butterworth’s play ‘Jerusalem’.
His performance this evening comes despite the death in a horror cycling crash of younger brother Jonathan, 60.
Sir Mark had been starring in the West End revival of Jerusalem, in what one critic has called an ‘almost superhuman’ performance.
He had announced in a statement that he would miss performances this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, in order to attend the funeral.
But it was unclear whether Sir Mark would feel emotionally able to go ahead with tonight’s performance.
A family friend told MailOnline: ‘Mark is at the theatre tonight. He will go on stage despite his obvious heartache. Mark will then travel to America for the memorial service.’
A spokesman for the Apollo theatre where Jerusalem is being shown confirmed that Sir Mark would appear in stage tonight.
He said: ‘Mark will be on stage tonight. He has just arrived at the theatre. The show must go on.’
Sir Mark has been widely praised for his performance as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron in the production of Jez Butterworth’s play ‘Jerusalem’.
Sir Mark Rylance (pictured) has bravely insisted on going back on stage tonight – despite the tragic death of his beloved brother in a cycling accident in California
His performance this evening comes despite the death in a horror cycling crash of younger brother Jonathan (above), 60
Theatre-goers offered their thanks to the veteran star for allowing the show to go on.
John and Hilary Norman from Hertfordshire said: ‘It’s very good of him to carry on. We’ve been looking forward to this play for months. It would have been a real shame if Mark wasn’t here. He is the reason we booked the tickets.’
It was previously reported that Sir Mark will fly to the US to ‘grieve’ his younger brother as friends and family raised $130,000 (£110,000) for the actor’s bereft niece to go to college this Autumn.
Wine expert Jonathan was cycling in the city of Oakland late one evening a fortnight ago when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle, suffering fatal head injuries.
The local fire department, who were first on the scene, gave immediate treatment but, despite being rushed to hospital, the 60-year-old affectionately called ‘Jonno’ by friends and family, died the following morning.
He had one daughter, Hazel, with her mother, Kate Razo. Their child is due to go to arts college, and a charity page to ‘support her’ financially following her father’s death has already raised $130,000, MailOnline can reveal.
It is another terrible loss for Sir Mark after one of his two step-daughters died from a fatal brain haemorrhage in 2012.
Nataasha van Kampen, a gifted filmmaker, was just 28 when she unexpectedly died on a flight from New York to London.
Sir Mark Rylance is mourning his brother today. Sommelier Jonathan Waters was cycling in the city of Oakland late one evening last week when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle, suffering severe head injuries
‘Jonno’ had one daughter, Hazel, with her mother, Kate Razo. Their child is due to go to arts college, and a charity page to ‘support her’ has already raised $130,000 (pictured)
Sir Mark will now not perform his West End play Jerusalem this weekend, and will be at a memorial service, followed by a celebration of his brother’s life at a winery in California.
The Oscar-winning actor said in a statement to fans: ‘I am so sorry to tell you that on the 28th of May my dear brother Jonathan Waters was knocked from his bicycle and tragically died of his injuries. In order to attend his funeral in California, I unfortunately have to miss three performances of Jerusalem’.
He added: ‘I hope you understand my need to grieve my beloved brother and thank you for your support at this time. I hope you will be able to attend another performance of Jerusalem.’
Sir Mark has two siblings, sister Susannah and brother Jonathan, who were all born in Kent. The actor took the name Mark Rylance in the 1980s because his given name, Mark Waters, was already taken by someone else registered with acting union Equity.
Susannah said in a tribute to her brother on Instagram: ‘The spirit and love that poured out of him toward people. Even meeting him a few times, people immediately felt they were his friend. And for me, his sister, he was my touchstone, my person on this earth. Along with the other members of my family whom I am so so blessed to have. I am lost. A huge piece of me gone’.
Rylance’s step-daughter Nataasha van Kampen, a gifted filmmaker, suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage while on a flight from New York to London in 2012
Sir Mark, left, holds their sister Susannah while sat next to his brother Jonathan when they were children in Ashford, Kent
Sir Mark Rylance married his wife Claire van Kampen (together left) in 1989. He is currently starring in the West End hit as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron in the production of Jez Butterworth’s play ‘Jerusalem’. He has taken a leave of absence
Jonathan Waters had spent more than three decades at one of California’s most acclaimed restaurants, Chez Panisse, where he had initially cleared tables before becoming an inspired sommelier.
He was adored not only for his encyclopaedic knowledge of wines but also for what one friend described as ‘his grace and joy, light and wit and spirit’.
Sir Mark had been starring in the West End revival of Jerusalem, in what one critic has called an ‘almost super-human’ performance.
This week, theatre-goers have been told of Jonno’s death and Rylance’s consequent absence.
On Sunday, he will be in California at a service commemorating the life of the brother with whom he and their sister, Susannah, grew up in America, largely in Wisconsin, where their father taught at the University School of Milwaukee.
Mr Rylance quit his role in the Olympics opening ceremony after the sudden death of his ‘beloved’ stepdaughter.
Rylance – one of Britain’s greatest Shakespearean actors – was due to recite verses from The Tempest during Danny Boyle’s ‘Isles of Wonder’ ceremony that lit up the London Stadium.
But the Olivier Award-winning actor pulled out after announcing his ‘beloved daughter’ had died of ‘unsuspected natural causes’.
Mark Rylance’s brother, known as ‘Jonno’ to friends, became a celebrated sommelier in the US
Sir Mark’s sister Susannah gave this poignant tribute to their brother, who ‘lived a brave, true life that affected so many people in a positive way’
Nataasha was the daughter of Rylance’s wife Claire van Kampen, and has known the actor since she was three. Her sister is award-winning actress Juliet Rylance.
The gifted independent filmmaker, started work at 16 for Sky Television, and went into production for short films before joining the London Film School. Her debut, Nocturne, was shown at the London Young Filmmakers Festival.
Dividing her time between New York and London, she described herself as an artist, designer and film-maker.
She lived in a flat near trendy Borough Market, close to London Bridge, but professed her love of New York and listed it as her ‘home town’ on Facebook. One neighbour, who said she had spoken to Mr Fitzgerald, said: ‘She had a cerebral haemorrhage on the plane. It’s just tragic – she had a heart of gold.’