Tucson native earns Creative Arts Emmy nomination for work on Deadliest Catch

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — An Ironwood Ridge High School graduate earned national recognition this month, receiving his second Creative Arts Emmy nomination for editing work on the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch.

Nico Nataly, who grew up in Tucson, was nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program.

Though the award ultimately went to Welcome to Wrexham, Nataly says he’s proud of the honor and grateful to have shared the experience with his mother at the Los Angeles ceremony.

Nataly’s path to the Emmys started in Tucson, where he attended Laurent Clerc Elementary, a school that integrated hearing and deaf students.

With a deaf sister at home, Nataly learned sign language early in life, a skill that he says continues to influence his storytelling style.

“I go into editing with a visual mindset and an emotional drive, which I think ultimately stems from within the deaf community,” Nataly said. “It’s a lot of communicating emotion without words.”

After graduating from Ironwood Ridge, Nataly moved to Los Angeles, where he began his career as a footage logger on Ice Road Truckers.

Over the next 14 years, he worked his way up to lead editor on Deadliest Catch, earning two Emmy nominations along the way.

At this year’s awards, Nataly said one highlight was meeting Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, the first deaf performer to win an Oscar, along with Nyle DeMarco, director of Apple Plus’ Deaf President Now.

Nico says his main goal in the entertainment industry is to bring more awareness and support to deaf entertainers.

Nico’s father, Joe Nataly, recalls seeing his son’s passion for editing long before Hollywood came calling.

“I remember when he was young, he saved up for a little VHS recorder,” Joe said. “He and his friends would make these crazy, silly movies at home. I’m just super excited to see him follow his dreams and get recognition for it.”

Joe says that Nico learned signing before he learned to speak as a child, and had to attend a bilingual school to practice learning to speak. He says this experience makes Nico stand out as an editor.

“He definitely has an insight that other editors and people in production don’t have,” he said. “He’s probably a pretty rare breed when it comes to that.

Nico appreciates the nomination and says, despite ultimately not winning the award, that he’s proud of the achievement.

“Most people there did not win, right?” he said with a laugh. “And I would see most people in general are not at the Emmys, so I won.”