Nico Antonio in full swing
Indie actor Nico Antonio has been gaining mainstream attention lately after being featured in several Kapamilya shows.
Now, he is set to push his career a notch higher thanks to a high-profile role in King Palisoc’s first feature, “Tandem.”
Indie actor Nico Antonio has been gaining mainstream attention lately after being featured in several Kapamilya shows. Now, he is set to push his career a notch higher thanks to a high-profile role in King Palisoc’s first feature, “Tandem.”
The film, a 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) New Wave category entry, revolves around Roman ( played by Nico) and Rex (JM de Guzman), two brothers who make a living by roaming the streets on a motorbike to snatch bags and cellphones from people. The brothers get protection from corrupt police officers Alba ( Allan Paule) and Lucero (Paolo O’Hara), who are also runners of a big-time syndicate.
In preparation for the role, Nico learned how to ride a motorcycle. “Sa pelikula, si JM ’yung madalas na driver pero may eksena din kasi na kai-- langan ako ang magda- drive kaya nag- aral ako. Actually isang araw lang akong tinuruan,” he said. Nico shared his favorite part of filming was when they were given real
beer to drink for a scene. “Natural lang ’yung eksena. Talagang parang nagi- inuman lang kami. Sabi ko nga na kulang pa, dagdagan pa ’yung beer kasi wala pa ka kam
ing amats,” he joked. For King, the challengechalle was to make Nico and JM look like real brothers.brothe
“Para makatotoh makatotohanan kasi na broth brothers sila, dapat iba ’ yu yung chemistry. Kaya n nagworkshop kami tap tapos tiningnan kung pasa pasado ba sila as magkapa magkapatid.
Fortunately, naging o okay
naman,”man, naman,” he said.
Nico refuted talks that JM was supposedly difficult to work with.
“Okay si JM. Walang problema. Nagulat nga kami bakit may mga bulong- bulong na problema siya. Kasi sa ‘Tandem,’ wala kaming naging problema,” he said. The actor related he and JM would even talk about their personal lives during lulls in shooting.
“As in napaka happy- go- lucky niya. Ang sarap niya pa ka- kwen
tuhan sa set,” he said. JM received a Best Actor trophy in the 2015 MMFF New Wave category for his performance.
“Tandem” also stars Elora Espano, Rochelle Pangilinan, Allan Paule, Paolo O’ Hara, BJ Forbes, Karl Medina and Dennis Marasigan.
It opens in cinemas on Feb. 17.
Huge success
Meanwhile, Nico continues to fly high on the romance comedy series “On The Wings Of Love (OTWOL),” with his character Tolayts becoming a fan favorite.
Apparently, many could identify with his tricycle- driving character and his ardent pursuit of the statuesque beauty, Tiffany ( Bianca Manalo).
In fact, many netizens have taken to posting on social media some of the
hugot lines delivered by his character, like “Ang tunay na lalaki hindi lang pang romansa, pang- labada din.”
Nico, who admitted to being active on social media, is amused by view- ers’ reaction to his performance.
“Masaya lang kasi para siyang panaginip na nagkatotoo( na mapansin ako),” he said. “On The Wings Of Love” airs daily on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida. (With report from Jojo P. Panaligan)