Question: What happens when you star in a bankable and critically-lauded foreign film that has spawned two sequels and an English-language remake?

Answer: You answer your phone and discover that Hollywood can’t wait to cast you in some of its biggest upcoming films.

Such is the case for Noomi Rapace, the star of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which is currently being remade by David Fincher). The Swedish actress has been in Hollywood recently, taking meetings on films such as Mission: Impossible 4, Sherlock Holmes 2 and James McTeigue’s The Raven. To cap it all off, it also seems that Music Box Films (the company behind Tattoo and its sequels) is gearing up a campaign to score Rapace an Oscar nomination.

While the roles in M:I4 and Sherlock Holmes 2 remain something of a mystery, it appears that they may lean towards the villainous side, as Deadline quotes a source who says:

"They're originally meeting her expecting this hard-ass on a Harley wearing leather. But she's nothing like Lisbeth. They're shocked to find this unbelievably beautiful and sexy fresh-faced actress with a wonderful sense of humor. So now that's opening doors for her. They go into the meeting to ask, 'Do I have a villain? And they leave saying, 'Do I have a great female lead?'"

When she was in Tinseltown, Rapace met with Brad Fischer for the Dracula tale The Last Voyage Of The Demeter and director Jon Amiel for what Deadline believes to be Masterwork, though he’s currently getting ready to shoot Undying with Kurt Russell this Fall. James McTeigue took a meeting with her to discuss his Edgar Allan Poe movie The Raven; McG discussed a villain role in his spy comedy This Means War, while Tommy Wirkola conversed with her about Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters - a comedic adventure which catches up with the Fairy Tale duo 15 years after the events of the original story. Rapace also spoke with Ridley Scott - could that project be the Alien Prequel? Oh, and she also met with Brett Ratner – who just wanted to meet her!

Rapace’s Hollywood ascent has been likened to that of Marion Cotillard, who won the Oscar for La Vie En Rose and then went on to star in films such as Public Enemies and Inception.

It was believed that Rapace wouldn’t be eligible for an Oscar nod because The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was released in 2009, and its two sequels were made for television and edited for the big screen. However, Dragon Tattoo was shown in a Los Angeles County theater in March – which means that she is eligible for a nomination. Music Box Films is about to hire an Oscar publicist to help the breakout actress campaign, once Oscar season starts.

It’s too early to tell which roles Rapace will accept at this point, however Sherlock Holmes 2 and Mission: Impossible 4 go into production in the Fall and McG is getting ready to shoot This Means War, so if she accepts one of those roles, then it should be confirmed in the near future. At the very least, we haven’t seen the last of Noomi Rapace on the silver screen.

Source: Deadline