Dean Winters

Early life

Winters was born in New York City on July 20, 1964. He was raised on Long Island. He is of Irish and Italian descent, and speaks fluent Italian. Winters spent his teenage years in Scottsdale, Arizona. He attended Chaparral High School and graduated from Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit school in Phoenix, in 1982, and from Colorado College in 1986.

Career

Winters has appeared in two of the Law & Order television series: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where he was a regular in the first season, and as a guest star in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Purgatory". He also made an appearance in Season 2 of the television series Sex and the City as John McFadden. More than ten years after his final appearance on SVU, he again portrayed Detective Brian Cassidy in the 13th-season finale "Rhodium Nights", became a recurring character in the 14th season and, in the 15th season, and also became Captain Olivia Benson's love interest. He has also made guest appearances on Homicide: Life on the Street, Third Watch, NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami and as Dennis Duffy in 30 Rock as well as previously having an accompanying role in Rescue Me.

He starred in the 1999 romantic comedy Undercover Angel with Yasmine Bleeth and the 2002 direct-to-video horror film Hellraiser: Hellseeker. He played Tom in P.S. I Love You. Winters played Detective Sam Tyler's father in the US version of Life on Mars. He also played Charley Dixon, Sarah Connor's love interest, in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Winters performed stand-up comedy at Catch a Rising Star, The Comic Strip, and the Comedy Cellar alongside notable comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, and Chris Rock. An HBO comedy special led him to the role he portrayed on Oz, the HBO-produced prison drama.

Winters was cast in the ABC drama pilot Happy Town, from the creators of October Road, but was replaced by Steven Weber after shooting the pilot.

Winters was away from acting until 2010, when Tina Fey brought him back to 30 Rock. Also that year, Winters was introduced as "Mayhem", a recurring character in a television and radio advertising campaign for Allstate Insurance created by the advertising agency Leo Burnett Chicago. In 2019, Fey joined Winters in a series of "Mayhem" commercials.

Winters played Avi in John Wick. Winters co-starred in one season of the CBS cop drama series Battle Creek, playing a small-town police force detective opposite Josh Duhamel, the FBI resident agent assigned to the town. The series was canceled in May 2015. He had a recurring role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine as The Vulture and had a supporting role as a divorce attorney on the HBO series Divorce.

In 2018, he was cast as Mr. Town in the second season of Starz's American Gods.

In 2019, he was in the film Framing John DeLorean.

Personal life

Winters has neuropathy, resulting in numbness and sensitivity issues in his hands and feet. In 2009, Winters contracted a bacterial infection and went into cardiac arrest. He underwent multiple surgeries and developed gangrene, resulting in the amputation of two of his toes and half of one of his thumbs.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (April 19, 2012). "Meet Mayhem: The Man Who Made Insurance Interesting". Business Insider.
2. "Dean Winters' profile at". Turner Classic Movies.
3. "Dean Winters: Charley Dixon".
4. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 22, 2009). "Slew of pilots flesh out casts". The Hollywood Reporter.
5. "Guide". TheFutonCritic.com.
6. "2010: Allstate disrupts insurance industry with introduction of "Mayhem"". thedrum.com.
7. (November 1, 2019). "Tina Fey takes the driver's seat in Allstate's new Mayhem spots".
8. "Dean Winters: Tony Silvercreek".
9. (June 4, 2018). "Dean Winters cast as Mr. Town in the second season of 'American Gods'".
10. (November 2, 2021). "Dean Winters is in constant pain from multiple amputations".
11. France, Lisa Respers. (November 3, 2021). "Dean Winters living in pain after multiple amputations".