Dean Winters is in constant pain from multiple amputations

‘Oz’ star has not walked without pain since 2009

Dean Winters has said he suffers in constant pain since undergoing multiple amputations 12 years ago.

Speaking to Page Six, the former Oz star said: “I haven’t taken a step since 2009 without being in pain.”

He went on to detail what the pain was like to live with: “I’ve got neuropathy on, you know, on a whole different level where I can’t feel my hands and my feet. But if I stepped on a pebble, it’s like I go through the roof.”

The amputations resulted from Winters contracting a bacterial infection that caused him to go into cardiac arrest.

The paramedics saved his life but he suffered from gangrene and had to undergo multiple operations. The end result was two toes and a thumb being amputated from his body.

The John Wick actor was matter-of-fact about living with the pain: “It’s very hard to figure out. Nothing you can do about it, I’ve been sucking it up because, you know, the alternative is not a place where I want to be.”

Winters has also been filming Joe Exotic, Peacock’s adaptation of the zoo owner’s life story. In the show, he plays Jeff Lowe, Exotic’s partner.

He gained weight for the role by melting ice cream in the microwave and drinking them like milkshakes.

(Getty Images)

Winters also hit out at zoos like the one Exotic owned before he was sent to prison for being involved in a murder-for-hire plot: “I took the job in hopes that people who hadn’t seen the documentary would just get really angry and just shut these zoos down because there’s no reason anyone should have any of these wild cats in their own possession.”