Coulson was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he graduated from Magee Secondary School in 1983.

[citation needed] As of 2022[update], Coulson resided in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside where he was in rehab for a drug addiction.

[1] Coulson shared an apartment with Brad Pitt in Los Angeles when they were both starting their careers.

[1] Coulson played Sid in the 1979 TV series Huckleberry Finn and His Friends and as Sal in Loverboy.

[2] He has most recently starred in the 2016 Canadian thriller film Dark Harvest as the character Frank Becker.