Can Paz Vega reclaim her Hollywood status with Paul W.S. Anderson’s "Pompeii"?

First she was a young immigrant mother from Mexico who worked as a housekeeper while she lived in a “Spanglish” world, now she will travel back in time to play a ruler priestess.

According to Variety, Paz Vega will join the cast of “Pompeii,” a historical drama directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.

The film is set in A.D. 79, in the days leading to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius which buried the Roman city of Pompeii and tells the story of a slave on a ship who is working to get home to save the woman he loves and his best friend, a gladiator trapped inside the city’s coliseum. 

Vega will play Strigana, the dark and mysterious high priestess of the ancient city. Also starring are Kit Harington, Kiefer Sutherland and Emily Browning.

I personally love historical dramas because they are the perfect combination of tragedy, love and action which also allows the film to target both male and female audiences. This is a great opportunity for Vega to once again capture the American public because after 2004 when she played Flor Moreno in “Spanglish” the American movies she has been a part of haven’t been too successful or widely promoted.

I think the Spanish native and Penelope Cruz look-alike still has a chance to do well in Hollywood and another stellar performance will get the actress another step closer.

Before her debut as Strigana, this year we’ll be able to catch Vega as Maria Callas, a turbulent opera singer and lover of Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis in “Grace of Monaco,” which stars Nicole Kidman; and in Pedro Almodovar’s “I’m So Excited.” 

“Pompeii” is set to be released in theaters Feb. 28, 2014.

Tell us if you look forward to seeing Paz Vega in the film.