After the #BonnieComeback, ScreenRant took a look back on Andrew Gower‘s time on Outlander and his (in)famous catchphrase #MarkMe which he uttered a total of 18 times in his 11 episodes.
ScreenRant are largely basing their article on an interview Andrew Gower gave Yahoo Entertainment in 2016 where he was asked if his use of “Mark me” was based on research, Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling novels or were invented by the series’ writers.
Eagle-eyed readers of the books will know that Diana Gabaldon indeed used the phrase several times but it was never spoken by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Andrew Gower answered the question as follows:
There is no mention of that particular phrase in my bible on Charlie [Frank McLynn’s biography]. It has become such a part of the character. Quite interestingly, it was in a first draft and read-through for my first-ever appearance on Outlander. There was a speech in the brothel, and from that point I wanted to build on that. I kept adding a few more “Mark me’s” because it felt like his way of demanding attention and saying, “This is my moment. Pay attention.” I took it also as a very military phrase, and he is a guy who is interested in that as in, “Mark my gun” or “Mark my sword.” In a way, for me in trying to play someone with a lack of identity, I wanted to give him a phrase that he routinely uses and that speaks to who he is. The scenes where I have not used it, I was a bit more raw and emotionally cut up. I have enjoyed the collaboration with the directors and writers on deciding when to throw one in or when to cut it out. It was a nice thing to add to the character.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment
Andrew Gower also addressed the drinking game that was invented by dedicated Outlander fans in another interview with Access Hollywood in 2016:
AccessHollywood.com: First of all, you must be aware of the ‘Mark Me!’ drinking game [some fans have made up], yes?
Andrew Gower: (laughs) Yes, I am. And I hope people are drinking safely, and maybe doing it like, every other ‘Mark me!’ and not on every one, because I don’t want to be encouraging bad hangovers on a Sunday.AccessHollywood.com: What did you think when you first heard about that?
Source: Access Hollywood
Andrew Gower: It’s very, very sweet and I think it’s quite fitting really, that they’ve invented that game, seeing as every time I’m saying, ‘Mark me’ at the moment, I seem to be holding a glass of wine or some alcohol. So I think it’s a fitting game if ever there was one.
Andrew Gower reprised his role as Bonnie Prince Charlie twice since S2 and concluded the story with a flashback to the Prince’s flight from Scotland when Flora McDonald famously dressed him up as her Irish maid “Betty Burke” to hide him from governement troups.
“Mark me” count by episode:
- 2×02 Not in Scotland Anymore : 3
- 2×03 Useful Occupations and Deceptions : 1
- 2×04 La Dame Blanche : 3
- 2×05 Untimely Resurrections : 1
- 2×06 Best Laid Schemes : 2
- 2×10 Prestonpans : 4
- 2×11 Vengeance is Mine : 0
- 2×12 The Hail Mary : 1
- 2×13 Dragonfly in Amber : 1
- 3×01 The Battle Joined : 1
- 6×05 Give me Liberty : 1
Andrew Gower Online 