Life truly imitated art for two Filipino stars, as actor Nico Antonio and former model-actor Luke Jickain officially passed the 2025 Philippine Bar Examinations, turning their on-screen lawyer roles into real-life careers.
On Wednesday, actor Jerico Alonso Antonio, better known as Nico Antonio, who played lawyers in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) film “Unmarry” and the TV series “Sins of the Father”, shared on Instagram Story that he was among the 5,594 examinees out of 11,420 to pass this year’s examinations.
His mother, Atty. Josabeth Alonso, expressed her pride in a heartfelt post, revealing that Nico graduated from law school in 2014 but delayed taking the Bar exams to focus on work and family.
“About 3 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,” she wrote.
“And now this great news has come! I am now a mother of three lawyers!!! The baby I gave birth to right after taking my final exams in Economics 151 during the summer of 1983—so I could enter law school—is now a lawyer himself!”
Meanwhile, Luke Jickain, the inspiration behind the character of Josh Zuñiga in the 2017 film “Bar Boys”, also passed the Bar on his first attempt.
The film’s sequel, “Bar Boys: After School”, is currently showing as part of the 51st MMFF.
“Congratulations to former model and actor, now lawyer Luke Jickain. In 2017, he was the basis for Joshua Zuñiga in Bar Boys. He went back to law school and became the basis of the character in Bar Boys: After School and passed the bar on his first take,” Bar Boys’ official Facebook post read.
Luke joins Nico among the 5,594 successful examinees who achieved the passing grade of 75 percent in the September 2025 Philippine Bar Examinations, making their real-life law careers a true reflection of their on-screen roles.
