Camille Naredo

Nico Antonio with wife Angel and mother Atty. Joji Alonso. MJ Felipe, ABS-CBN News

Nico Antonio with wife Angel and mother Atty. Joji Alonso.

Article (news)

Nico Antonio

MJ Felipe

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1767796652320viber_image_2026-01-07_22-00-45-668.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Nico Antonio with wife Angel and mother Atty. Joji Alonso. MJ Felipe, ABS-CBN News" width="960"/>Nico Antonio with wife Angel and mother Atty. Joji Alonso. MJ Felipe, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA -- Passing the bar after one take was a dream that was more than a decade in the making for character actor Nico Antonio.&quot;I was scared, anxious, &#x27;di ko kasi alam kung papasa or hindi, but I was staying positive,&quot; Antonio told ABS-CBN News while having a celebratory dinner with his family and relatives. &quot;So, when the news came out, I was shocked. It was very surreal.&quot;Antonio spent some time in church this morning, praying fervently. At the same time, he monitored the announcement of bar passers via the livestream of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. When he saw his name, he could not hide his happiness. He shared the moment with his wife and afterward called his mother, lawyer-movie producer Atty. Joji Alonso.   <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/1/7/nico-antonio-luke-jickain-among-passers-of-2025-bar-exam-1618">Nico Antonio, Luke Jickain among passers of 2025 Bar Exam </a> </div>Antonio graduated from law school in 2014, but was admittedly not fully ready to take the bar exams at the time.He was asking for signs when he crossed paths with award-winning director Laurice Guillen in a workshop. The director asked him a blunt question: &quot;Ano bang gusto mong mangyari sa buhay mo? Gusto mo bang maging actor o abogado?&quot;&quot;Sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Ma&#x27;am, both.’ Sabi niya, ‘Hindi mo kayang gawin, hindi mo pwedeng gawin yan. Hindi mo pwedeng pagsabayin yan kasi mistress sila pareho. Kailangan may piliin ka!&#x27;&quot; Antonio recalled.Work poured in for the reliable character-actor. Then came the hit TV series, &quot;On the Wings of Love,&quot; which opened plenty of doors for Antonio. He took it as the sign that he has been waiting for.&quot;Alam ko na ang sign, so I chose to be an actor. Pinatulog ko muna in a way,&quot; he said.But a new sign came his way in 2023, when he saw a 68-year-old woman pass the bar in her first take. &quot;Sabi ko, kung kaya niya, kaya ko rin,&quot; said Antonio.With blessings from his wife and mother, Antonio went back to school and started preparing for the bar. &quot;I came back to San Sebastian (College), I asked the dean there, ‘Dean, can I re-enroll again to prepare myself for the 2025 bar exam?’ Sabi niya, ‘gusto mo ba online?’ Sabi ko, ‘no, I wanna go to school, be with classmates, recite and study para may pressure,&quot; he said.During the bar exam in September, Antonio had to thank Julie Ann Benitez, the business unit head of the TV series &quot;Sins of the Father,&quot; which Antonio was a part of. He was ready to exit the project, but God had other plans.“During the time na nagpreprepare ako sa bar, pinayagan niya ako mag-break. Hindi niya ako tinanggal sa show na ‘Sins of the Father,’ tapos pinayagan niya akong bumalik. Sabi nga niya sa akin, marami akong ideas kung paano ko patayin ang character mo, pero no no no!” he recalled.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/7/working-by-day-studying-by-night-up-law-grad-tops-the-2025-bar-exam-1825">Working by day, studying by night: UP Law grad tops the 2025 Bar exam</a></div>Antonio is the latest addition to the growing number of celebrities who passed the bar through the years, which includes beauty queen Eva Patalinjug, Tippy dos Santos, Jimmy Bondoc, and Luke Jickain. He candidly admitted that he felt envious while watching reports and news about these personalities passing the bar.“May inggit ako, kasi kaya ko eh! Naniniwala ako, kaya lang hindi ka pwedeng sumabak sa gera na mag-isa ka lang, kailangang may support ka!” said Antonio.He is now ready for a new chapter in his life. While there are two big projects in the pipeline for him -- a TV series and an indie movie -- Antonio is excited to take his oath and finally add the prefix ‘Attorney’ before his name.He also offered a piece of advice to future takers of the bar exam: “Just keep trying. Not just taking the bar, but in other aspects of my life I failed so many times. I just keep trying. Today, you sulk, you cry whatever it is. Tomorrow, you pick yourself up.”<div> </div>

Passing the bar after one take was a dream that was more than a decade in the making for character actor Nico Antonio.

Passing the bar after one take was a dream that was more than a decade in the making for character actor Nico Antonio.

Why 'On the Wings of Love' played a pivotal role in Nico Antonio’s dream to be a lawyer

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Why 'On the Wings of Love' played a pivotal role in Nico Antonio’s dream to be a lawyer

MJ Felipe,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 07, 2026 11:52 PM PHT

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Bar exams

Nico Antonio

Lawyer

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