Actors Nico Antonio, Luke Jickain take law dreams from reel to real life

MANILA, Philippines – Since the 5,594 passers of the 2025 Bar exams were announced on Wednesday, January 7, a number of notable passers with inspiring stories have been discovered. Among them was an examinee who passed after 11 tries, brilliant topnotchers from top universities in the country, and the son of fisherfolk.

What do you know, some figures from the Philippine entertainment industry joined the list.

Celebrities Nico Antonio and Luke Jickain literally took their journey as lawyers from reel to real-life settings.

Nico Antonio

Actor Nico Antonio graduated with a degree in European Studies from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2005, and completed his law studies at the San Beda College of Law in 2013.

Antonio recently appeared in the film UnMarry, an entry in the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), where he played the role of Attorney Willie. Now, he gets to embody his character in real life. 

He also had a cameo role in the law school-centered film Bar Boys: After School as a security guard and the owner of the cat Toby.

He also appeared in the ABS-CBN series Sins of the Father, where he portrayed Rafael Sandoval, and played Simon in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.

In an interview with News5, Antonio mentioned that he was in church praying to pass the Bar examinations when the results came out.

“Nakita ko sa website ng Supreme Court. Sobrang happy, pero at the same time surreal kasi hindi ako makapaniwala na pumasa na nga ako,” he said. (I saw it on the Supreme Court website. I was happy, but at the same time it was surreal because I couldn’t believe that I really passed.)

Luke Jickain

Former model and actor Luke Jickain — the Imortal and Marina star — was also among the successful examinees. He passed on his first attempt.

A graduate of the Arellano University School of Law, Jickain shared that being a lawyer was his childhood dream, but that he “never had the confidence” he could end up as one.

“I’m not naman too good at class, so I’m just that student who gets 75. Hanggang law school, 75 pa rin ako,” he said in an interview with News5.

(I’m not really that good in class, so I’m just the student who gets a 75. Even in law school, I was still getting 75.)

Jickain’s life story became the basis for the Bar Boys character Joshua Zuñiga, who planned on entering law school with his friends but ended up becoming an actor instead. The role is played by Kean Cipriano in both the 2017 original and the 2025 MMFF sequel.

Antonio and Jickain are just the latest celebrities to cross over to the legal profession. Tippy dos Santos and Eva Patalinjug passed the Bar in 2022. – Alfon Cabanilla/Rappler.com

Alfon Cabanilla is a Rappler intern studying AB Communication at the Ateneo de Manila University.