Heavensward - Opening Movie (warning contains spoilers)

[Balipu]

Pretty sure it was just the lighting that made his hair look white.
As for the beard... well, maybe he is just one of those men that grows hair really quickly?

Or maybe Raubahn has white hair and merely dyes it black. Since he has no access to beauty products in prison his natural color comes out.

I seriously don't understand why people hate the Highlander so much when he has only served to be the representation of our character and the default appearance of the Warrior of Light since 1.0 era.

He is not a highlander. The 1.0 cinematic calls him midlander. As for the hate: Most likely because a white hyur midlander male is the least imaginatice choice for a player character out of all the possible combinations.