Traffic, humidity, hurricanes: ‘M.I.A.’ star loves everything about his hometown
Miami or bust.
After working steadily as an actor (“Breaking Bad,” “End of Watch,” “Narcos,” “Power”) in Los Angeles for 30 years, Maurice Compte is finally back where he belongs.
That’s thanks to the Peacock hit “M.IA.,” named after his hometown’s airport. In the gritty revenge drama, Compte plays Mateo Rojas, the son of a drug cartel boss forced to take over the family business.
Though it’s unclear if there will be a season two of the recently wrapped thriller, Compte, now based in the Coral Gables area, has multiple balls in the air.
His current project, also to be shot in South Florida, is an indie with moral undertones called “Guilt,” about the ripple effect from a car accident. The “collaborative piece” is hardly a big-budget affair.
At the time of our telephone chat, the film’s star was driving to Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise to pick out a few outfits for his character, who’s in every scene.
The gnarly midday traffic heading north to Broward and pouring rain did nothing to dampen his mood.
“The universe blessed me with the I-405 in L.A., so this is nothing,” Compte cracked. “I just look up at the sky and I’m happy. The weather has its own personality here. It literally reminds me of myself: The day starts out hopeful, goes through some dark clouds, I work through it. By afternoon, it’s 90 degrees and hot, and I’m ready to go.”
Technically, Compte is a New Orleans native, his Cuban-exile folks relocating to Little Havana when he was 4 months old. As a kid, he moved around to a few schools, including Shenandoah Elementary, eventually landing at Miami Senior High.
His first big-screen role was as an extra in 1996’s “The Substitute” with Tom Berenger as a tough mercenary who transforms the student body. The cult classic was filmed at his old high school, in his history classroom.
“That was my full-circle moment, which was wild,” said Compte who’s still involved with Miami High, serving on the committee of the Marty Hancock scholarship, named after his acting teacher.
“She changed the course of my life. So now it’s important for me to give back and guide the minds of kids to show them their goals are absolutely achievable.”
Someone else who made a big impact on his life? Dad Roman Compte, who managed the Mutiny Hotel in Coconut Grove back in the “Cocaine Cowboys” heyday. The notorious hotspot, now a luxury property, was a fave hangout of violent kingpins, hard-living celebs, dirty cops and crooked politicians.
In 2024, the younger Compte ended up producing an homage to the Bay of Pigs vet turned CIA asset, in MGM+’s “Hotel Cocaine,” starring Danny Pino (“Cold Case”).
“It still makes me emotional to talk about, but I was glad I was able to do that,” the 54-year-old said of the period drama. “Not just for him, but for the people who lived through that era. Miami had so many highs and lows, it was such a formative time.”
The father of three is shocked by how changed everything is in the present-day 305, especially post-COVID, with gleaming skyscrapers, sleek restaurants and million-dollar mansions everywhere you look.
“There’s such a disparity now from the way it was!” Compte marveled. “I remember when South Beach and the Grove were full of abandoned buildings!”
Beside “Guilt,” there’s other big fish on the horizon —“The Odyssey.” Though details are sparse, he spilled that he has one of 15 speaking parts in the big-budget flick adapted from Homer’s ancient Greek epic.
The all-star cast, led by Matt Damon, includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Charlize Theron and Anne Hathaway. But it’s the director who made the most lasting impression.
“The true beauty is to stand in the presence of Christopher Nolan,” he gushed of the Oscar-winner (”Interstellar,” “Dark Knight,” “Oppenheimer”). “He’s just an incredible human being and respects and cherishes his wife Emma Thomas as a collaborator, something so rare in Hollywood.”
Since “The Odyssey” is predicted to be this summer’s blockbuster, there’s a good chance Compte will be propelled onto the world stage and achieve household-name status. If that happens, don’t expect him to go changing.
“I want to stay in Miami and don’t plan on leaving, because it really is the Magic City,” said Compte, who also spends time in England, where his journalist wife, Lucy Sherriff, is from.
“It’s no surprise it’s risen to prominence in the way that it has,” he said. “It’s a diverse amalgamation of cultures, with its own unique character. Even the hurricanes, the humidity. I’ll take it. All of it speaks to me. ”
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 3:34 PM.
