Lombardi originally planned to be a professional athlete, but after an injury, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue becoming an actor. Lombardi made his film debut in American Honey about a magazine crew traveling across the country written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and was distributed domestically by A24. Lombardi also has two other films awaiting release including Killing Animals opposite Joey King and Sollers Point directed by Matt Porterfield. In early 2017, Lombardi appeared in a major worldwide advertising campaign for Ermenegildo Zegna with Robert De Niro.