Lombardi started his career in the stage company of
Ugo Chiti, where he stayed ten years. He later formed the “Piccoli Briganti” stage company together with Nicola Magnini, specializing in comedy plays retelling old fables and children's novels such as
Peter Pan and
Snow White. Lombardi made his playwriting debut with
Stile Libero and in 2013 won the Florence Fringe Festival with the drama
Fists of Sulfur ("Pugni di Zolfo"), which was later staged at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the mid-2010s he had his breakout with the theatrical hit
The Pride, directed by
Luca Zingaretti, which got him a
Le Maschere Award nomination, and later with the role of Cardinal Mario Assente in
Paolo Sorrentino's series
The Young Pope. ==Selected filmography==