Ang pagkamatay sa Bangkok, Thailand noong Hunyo 2022 ng kanyang dating manager na si Shandii Bacolod ang nagdulot kay Nico Locco ng matinding trauma at isang dahilan kaya hangga’t maaari, iniiwasan niyang bumalik sa nabanggit bansa.
Si Nico ang nagwaging best actor sa VMX movie na Kolektor sa Bangkok Movie Awards 2026, na ginanap mula Pebrero 2 hanggang Pebrero 13 sa Bangkok.
Pero hindi niya ito dinaluhan dahil bukod sa kanyang trauma, hindi siya umaasang manalo.
Pinadalhan si Nico ng festival organizers ng plane tickets, kasama ang hotel accommodation para makadalo siya sa gabi ng parangal noong Pebrero 13.
Pero pinili niya na huwag pumunta dahil sa kanyang karanasan sa Thailand.
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NICO LOCCO REMEMBERS MANAGER SHANDII BACOLOD
Lahad ni Nico sa eksklusibong panayam ng Cabinet Files: "Binigyan ako ng festival organizers ng dalawang plane tickets with accommodations to attend the awards night noong February 13, pero unfortunately, hindi ako naka-attend.
"Bakit? Marami akong happy at sad memories sa Thailand, pero the sad memories are what stopped me from going back, for now.
"Namatay ang manager ko sa Thailand, three years ago while I was working for Anne Jakrajutatip sa JKN TV niya.
"Sobrang na-trauma ako sa nangyari and siguro I still live with a bit of that, even until now."
Nagpunta lang daw ulit si Nico sa Thailand dahil sa work commitments noon.
Kuwento pa niya: "Nakabalik ako sa Thailand to host for Miss Universe a few times after losing my manager.
"Siyempre, masaya ako hosting for one of the biggest pageants in the world.
"Pero it was a very difficult experience for me din kaya siguro I didn’t want to face those traumas again by flying back para sa awards night ng Bangkok Movie Awards.”
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NICO LOCCO ON WINNING AN AWARD
Pero malaki ang pasasalamat ni Nico sa natanggap na award.
"I am so honored to receive the Golden Elephant Award for Best Actor at the Bangkok Movie Awards 2026.
"The Golden Elephant is given to the best actor across all categories (there are best actor awards given per genre as well) which makes the Golden Elephant award prestigious because it is the over-all best actor in the whole festival.
"The festival ran from Feb 2-13 in Bangkok with the awards night happening on the last day of the festival,” paliwanag ni Nico tungkol sa international film festival.
Malaking sorpresa para sa kanya ang tinanggap niyang parangal.
Masayang balita niya: "Nagulat talaga ako na nanalo ako na best actor sa Bangkok Movie Awards, lalo na yung Golden Elephant Award.
"Ang akala ko, nanalo ako sa isang category pero to be awarded as the best actor across all genres, speechless ako.
"My director, Carlo Alvarez, told me about the festival nung na-nominate ako. Wala talaga akong idea that I was in the running for any award, let alone the Golden Elephant Award so pleasant surprise talaga siya, as in!"
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NICO LOCCO THANKS TEAM BEHIND KOLEKTOR
Ang Kolektor ng VMX ay isang errotic horror-thiriller na tumatalakay sa misteryosong lihim ng isang lalaking nawawala ang mga babaeng nakakaugnayan.
Kasama niya sa pelikula sina Candy Veloso at Salome Salvi.
Lahad pa ni Nico tungkol sa parangal na binigay sa kanya: "I believe in myself at wala akong duda sa abilities ko as an actor. Pero honestly speaking, hindi ko in-expect na mananalo ako sa Bangkok Movie Awards.
"I checked the list of nominees and it was star-studded kaya siguro naisip ko, 'Wow, I’m grateful to just be nominated.' Ayaw ko rin umasa kasi may disappointment kapag umaasa tayo nang masyado.
"Huge thanks to my Viva family and my director for allowing this film to be made. It will always have a close place to my heart. I almost died for this film, literally.
"Going to Japan last year and winning the Best Actor award sa OTT Streaming category ng Osaka International Film 2025 was already enough.
"Parang icing on the cake na ito,” ang lubos ang ligayang pahayag ni Nico.