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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Movies and TV devider Reel to real: 'UnMarry' star Nico Antonio passes 2025 Bar exams

Reel to real: 'UnMarry' star Nico Antonio passes 2025 Bar exams

Published Jan 7, 2026 05:51 pm
Actor Nico Antonio, who portrays a lawyer in the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival hit drama "UnMarry," has successfully passed the 2025 Bar examinations.
Nico Antonio (Instagram)
Nico Antonio (Instagram)
Atty. Joji Villanueva Alonso, the film's producer, announced it on Facebook, congratulating Nico on Jan. 7. Her full post:
"From Atty. Willie on screen to Atty. Nico Antonio in real life. Anak ko yan!!!"' she wrote on social media.
Atty. Joji recalled the days when Nico was preparing to take the Bar exams.
"I must admit that I didn’t think this day would come. While Nico graduated from law school in 2014, he never took the bar because he was working on one tv or movie project to the next. Until he was just too busy with work that it wasn’t the priority anymore as he had a family to provide for," Atty. Joji stated on Facebook.
Atty. Joji Villanueva Alonso, of Quantum Films, and Nico Antonio
Atty. Joji Villanueva Alonso, of Quantum Films, and Nico Antonio
She continued," About three years ago, he asked for my blessing to take the bar. I could see the fire in him to overcome one last battle. He enrolled in review classes while working on a soap and film projects simultaneously. In fact, the days following the first two days of the bar exams, he had to shoot for UnMarry because we needed to finish the film in time for the deadline.
"I volunteered to be part of his bar operations with his younger brother, Paeng. I stayed at the hotel where he stayed to bring him whatever last-minute tips we could find. And then, I would drive him to the venue while his wife Angel would fetch him with their two sons, when the exams were over.
"And now this great news has come! I am now a mother to three lawyers!!!
"God has been soooooo good to me and my children. My gratitude is beyond measure.
"The baby I gave birth while taking my final exams in Economics 151 during the summer of 1983, to enable me to enter law school - is now a lawyer himself!!! Congratulations Kuya Nico!" the female producer added.
It would be recalled that in 2022, Nico made a splash when he landed a role in an international mainstream project and earned high praise for his upcoming eight-part series "Big Bet" on Disney+.
That time, it was Nico's most significant acting break after 19 years in showbiz. Nico first started as a talent in "Panday" and worked his way up, playing various roles on television and in both mainstream and independent films.
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