'True Blood' Casts New Vampire: Italian Actress Joins as Series Regular

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HBO's True Blood has just added a new vampire to Season 5 and she sounds like she’s going to make quite a stir in Bon Temps.

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A network spokesperson confirms to The Hollywood Reporter that Italian actress, Valentina Cervi, is joining the show as a series regular, as first reported by TVLine.

She will play Salome, a seductive and powerful ancient vampire whose beauty may only be outdone by her intelligence. According to early casting notices, the character is derived from King Herod’s daughter in the New Testament. She ordered John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter.

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The 35-year-old actress was born in Rome -- her father is Italian director Tonino Cervi and her grandfather is the Italian actor Gino Cervibegan. She began acting at 10 years old and has appeared in several films including this year’s Jane Eyre and 1996's The Portrait of a Lady. She also appeared in the BBC TV mini-series, Zen, starring Rufus Sewell.

True Blood returns in Summer 2012 to HBO.

Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter: @TheRealJethro