R.J. MacReady  R.J. MacReady is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the 1982 body horror film "The Thing" portrayed by Kurt Russell. At some point, MacReady worked for Hughes Aircraft as a test pilot, before resigning after a conflict with the company's management team. MacReady was eventually stationed as the helicopter pilot at U.S Outpost 31 in Antarctica. After a Norwegian helicopter pursues an Alaskan Malamute firing shots at it comes across Outpost 31, a misfired grenade destroys the helicopter and killing one of the two pilots. The final pilot is killed by station commander Garry and the dog is placed in a kennel. MacReady investigates the Norwegian base, only to find it decimated and all researchers deceased. MacReady uncovers evidence that the Norwegians had dug something out of the ice and finds the burned remains of a deformed monstrous creature with two heads. Returning to the base, they find that the sled dogs have been assimilated by the Malamute, which turns into a monster, leading to Childs torching the creature with a flamethrower. Blair performs an autopsy on the creature and reveals that the dog had been assimilated by an alien creature capable of absorbing and perfectly imitating other life forms. MacReady returns to the Norwegian base and discovers that the Norwegian team had uncovered a spacecraft in the ice. While MacReady is away, Bennings is assimilated and returns to find Blair has sabotaged the helicopters and tractors, killed the remaining dogs and is currently in the process of demolishing the communications room with a fire axe. MacReady subdues Blair and locks him in the tool shed. The crew individually becomes increasingly paranoid and discover that the remaining blood samples had been destroyed and Fuchs had committed suicide before The Thing could assimilate him fully. After recovering Fuchs' body, MacReady is locked outside of the base during a blizzard due to suspicions by Childs after uncovering a torn piece of his coat in the snow. MacReady eventually breaks into the storage room and threatens the remaining survivors with dynamite. In the midst of this confrontation, Norris suffers a heart attack. Copper attempts to resuscitate Norris via defibrillation, which causes the Norris-Thing to transform and murder him. After torching the head of the Norris-Thing as it attempts to escape, Clark attempts a mutiny against MacReady which leads to his swift demise. After Clark's death, the rest of the crew agree to MacReady running a blood sample test with hot wire to see whose blood reacts defensively.