Biography
Domenico Lombardozzi was born on March 25, 1976 in the Bronx, New York, and the youngest of three. His initial interest was baseball, but at age 16, he answered an open call for non-professional young men to appear in Robert De Niro's "A Bronx Tale" (1993). Billed as Dominick Lombardozzi, he landed a minor role as a neighborhood thief whose own mother thought so little of him that she dubbed him "Nicky Zero." After the film's completion, Lombardozzi returned to his day-to-day existence, but hoped for other acting opportunities. A call came from independent filmmaker Tony Vitale, who had served as location manager on "A Bronx Tale." Vitale was making his directorial debut with "Kiss Me, Guido" (1997), an indie comedy about a pizza maker and aspiring actor who moves in with a gay roommate. Lombardozzi played Joey Chips, a friend of the pizza maker. Independent features led to a stint on "Oz" (HBO, 1997- 2003) as an imprisoned contractor. Billy Crystal's "61*" (HBO, 2001) allowed him to work as Polish-American Bill "Moose" Skowron, a first baseman for the New York Yankees during Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris' pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. In 2002, Lombardozzi earned his breakout role as Thomas "Herc" Hauk on "The Wire" (HBO, 2002-08). Though never a ratings hit, "The Wire" and Lombardozzi's connection to the show helped boost his profile in features and television. His fans found him playing intimidating figures in the film version of "S.W.A.T." (2003), Sidney Lumet's "Find Me Guilty" (2006) and Michael Mann's feature adaptation of his "Miami Vice" (2006) 1980s series. He earned a memorable showcase as Dom in "Entourage" (HBO, 2004-11). In 2009, he reunited with Mann to play Gilbert Catena, a bookie and associate of Johnny Depp's John Dillinger in "Public Enemies" (2009). In 2011, Lombardozzi made the leap to series lead with "Breakout Kings," an action-crime series related to "Prison Break" (Fox, 2005-09). Lombardozzi played Ray Zancanelli, a former Deputy U.S. Marshal who lost his job over money he stole. After serving his time, he teamed with fellow Marshal Charlie Duchamp (Laz Alonzo) to form a special task force that used incarcerated criminals to track down escaped fugitives. Lombardozzi earned strong reviews for his performance. He has since had roles in the films "Blood Ties" (2013), "The Gambler" (2014), "Cold Pursuit" (2019) and "Armageddon Time" (2022).
