Alexander Mahone

Alexander "Alex" Mahone is a fictional character portrayed by William Fichtner in the American television series Prison Break. Mahone is introduced in the premiere of the second season as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specializing in manhunts for escaped prisoners for 14 years. When the protagonist of the series, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), successfully orchestrates the escape of eight prisoners from Fox River State Penitentiary, Mahone is assigned to spearhead the task force assembled to recapture the fugitives and manages to capture four of them. He is later arrested in Panama and imprisoned in Penitenciaría Federal de Sona in the second-season finale. Mahone manages to escape, and is coerced into taking down the Company, a secret group of multinationals which exerts an influence on the White House. An assassin is hired by the Company to murder his son, and Mahone spends the majority of season four seeking revenge. The writers created Mahone's character for the second season as a fugitive pursuer who was not corrupt. As the number of antagonists increased, they developed Mahone as a foil to Scofield. The writers sought to portray Mahone as a morally ambiguous character, shifting the audience's sympathy toward him. Fichtner, attracted by the character's potential, was cast as Mahone just one day before filming began on the second season. He initially signed on for two seasons but was later persuaded to return for a third.