Russell Haden

Russell Haden is an Australian-born biologist who is later revealed to be a mass-murderer targeting base personnel.

Haden is played by Australian-born actor, Alex O'Loughlin.

History
Not much is known about Haden's life, his past or where in Australia he originally came from but by the time "Whiteout" began, he was a biologist already stationed or assigned to work at the United States's Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica along with various other scientists from all over the world. At some point, during the research, he and a group of other scientists went out on a trek but along the way, they discovered diamonds which they hid and later smuggled back to the Base, resulting in the creation of a diamond smuggling ring operating in the Base.

Haden eventually formed a secret partnership with Dr. John Fury, one of the doctors at the Base and at the time of U.S Federal Marshal Carrie Stetko's return to the Base, Haden while maintaining his innocent and charming personality began targeting and personally killing those involved in the smuggling ring so that they would not be confess to the authorities, even going so far as to disguise himself to ensure that his identity stayed hidden.

Haden's first target was a scientist named Anton Weiss whom he killed with an ice-axe, the same axe that would become Haden's primary weapon in the killings he committed before leaving Weiss's body out in the cold where a pilot later discovered it, prompting both Dr. Fury and Carrie to go out and investigate.

Haden who had gotten to the Base beforehand simply gave the assumption that nothing was wrong but after presumably hearing about John Mooney who wanted to talk to Carrie, Haden went back out into the field and confronted Mooney, fatally wounding the other man by stabbing him in the throat, leaving Mooney to bleed to death.

Once he'd finished, Haden then hid in a corner, lying in wait for Carrie.

When Carrie arrived and saw Mooney on the couch, bleeding, Haden struck, attempting to kill Carrie but she managed to outsmart him and fled but unfortunately, Carrie later lost two fingers in the process due to frostbite which left her devastated.

Haden returned to the Base and removed his gear while maintaining the appearance that nothing was wrong.

When the third scientist, a man named Michael Rubin who had gone missing and was suspected of being the killer finally emerged, Haden struck again, dragging Rubin who was attempting to escape outside into the freezing cold. As before, Rubin presumably intended to kill Rubin via the ice-axe but lost it when the two fell down some steps.

Haden tried to remove the axe but changed his mind before leaping over the stairs and he calmly approached Rubin and using his strength to break Rubin's neck, killing Rubin but Haden's plans of escaping were scuppered when Carrie emerged, striking him with a shovel which knocked him out and led to his capture and arrest.

Having being cuffed, Haden was dragged back to the Base and placed into an office area where Carrie and Robert Pryce, a UN security agent interrogated Haden who simply told them who he was and his nationality before demanding to speak to his consulate.

After insulting Carrie by telling her that she looked good with a few parts missing, referring to the two fingers she'd lost in the snowstorm when he'd chased her, Carrie and Robert turned the tables by threatening to remove Haden's fingers, the threat of which was so severe that Haden told them that he had hid the canisters he was looking for in his gear and after they backed off, Haden discovered that his pinky finger also had a small cut on it which caused Haden's ugly side to emerge again as he called Carrie a crazy bitch.

Carrie and Robert placed Haden in the brig while they searched for the canisters but Haden escaped, attacking and stabbing Delfy before fleeing again. Carrie soon realized that Haden was planning on using a plane to escape the Base, forcing her and Robert to head after Haden but Haden after realizing they were onto him, fled the plane and headed to the Base entrance, obviously intending to lock them out for good.

Once they reached Haden, a brutal, vicious fight ensured with Haden quickly gaining the upper hand due to his superior strength but Robert fought back and managed to grab the bag that Haden had been carrying with the distraction giving Carrie just enough time to cut the rope holding Haden.

As a result, Haden was dragged, screaming into the raging storm, presumably freezing to death.

Personality
On the surface, Haden appears to be a charming and very innocent man interested in nothing but partying and drinking but deep down, he possesses a very dark, cruel and murderous side. This is demonstrated when he begins targeting and killing his former colleagues and again when after being arrested, where he tells Carrie that he reckons she'd be good at the strip search she owns him, seeing as she's lost a few parts, referring to Carrie losing the last two fingers on her left hand due to frostbite she sustained when Haden was chasing her.

Haden also expresses no remorse whatsoever, suggesting that he might be a psychopath.

Another trait that makes him even more dangerous and quite possibly a force to be reckoned is the fact that he is very relentless when it comes to killing his victims. This is seen when he continues to go after one man, Michael Rubin who has managed to evade him with the chase ending with Haden breaking Rubin's neck, killing Rubin instantly.

Unfortunately, like all villains, Haden's arrogance proved to be his one key weakness and eventually led to his downfall and ultimately his death.

M.O
Haden's strategy was to kill his victims by usually up behind them when they least expected before impaling an ice-axe into their backs. Another preferred method of his was to use the weapon to slash their throats, resulting in the victim usually bleeding to death.

On the one occasion that his ice-axe was lost, Haden didn't flee, simply changing tactics as he used his own strength to break his intended victim's neck.

Victims

 * Anton Weiss- (stabbed to death with ice-axe).
 * John Mooney- (stabbed with ice-axe, later bled to death).
 * Carrie Stetko- (attempted on multiple occasions, failed every time).
 * Michael Rubin- (originally tried to stab with ice-axe, later broke his neck instead).
 * Robert Pryce- (also attempted, failed as well).
 * Delfy- (presumably stabbed, eventually survived).