'Oz' and '30 Rock' star Dean Winters says he's in constant pain since amputations of his thumb and two toes 12 years ago

• Actor Dean Winters told Page Six he's been managing chronic pain for 12 years.
• The 'Oz' and '30 Rock' star had two toes and half a thumb amputated due to a bacterial infection.

Dean Winters, the actor known for roles in "Oz" and "30 Rock," recently told Page Six that he's dealt with chronic pain every day since a medical emergency 12 years ago.

"I haven't taken a step since 2009 without being in pain," the 57-year-old actor told the outlet in an exclusive. "I've got neuropathy 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."

Winters lost two toes and half of a thumb after a bacterial infection led to a near-death experience and subsequent gangrene. A year after his amputations, the actor recalled the story to Page Six, saying that he woke up "gray" and swollen the morning after going to sleep with a bad fever.

He collapsed at his doctor's office in New York City, and his heart stopped beating for two and a half minutes during an ambulance ride across Central Park. Fortunately, the actor survived a three-week stay in the ICU, but he later returned to the hospital with gangrene.

Gangrene can occur following an infection that affects blood circulation, according to the Mayo Clinic, causing tissue to discolor and die. Doctors had to remove the most affected areas - two toes and half a thumb - and did several surgeries to rebuild Winters' right hand.

The actor almost turned down his role as "Mayhem" in the Allstate insurance commercials because he was undergoing a tenth surgery, but he eventually agreed to take on the gig.

Over the years, Winters said he's learned to live with the constant pain.

"It's a very weird dichotomy. It's like, it's very hard to figure out. Nothing you can do about it," he told Page Six. "I've been sucking it up because the alternative is not a place where I want to be."