Dexter actress signs on for HBO's True Blood

Remember Syl, the oh-so-wronged wife of Jimmy Smits’ D.A. Miguel Prado on last season’s Dexter? The lovely actress who played her, Valerie Cruz, is movin’ on to HBO. She’s been cast in the network’s vampires-lead-real-lives-too drama True Blood.

Her character, Isabel, is “an elegant Hispanic Vampire,” The Hollywood Reporter says. The recurring role ups the ante for Cruz, whose past roles include guest appearances on network fare such as Las Vegas, Grey’s Anatomy and Crossing Jordan.

She’ll also co-star with Cuba Gooding Jr. in the horror flick The Devil’s Tomb, a straight-to-DVD release from Sony. Cruz plays a CIA operative who bring Gooding Jr.’s character and his team of mercenaries to the aid of a scientist who makes a mysterious discovery under the dessert sands in the Middle East.

Image: Bauer-Griffin