He studied architecture at university, but rediscovered his love for the theatre during an audition for Jan Fabre in Brussels.
In 1995 he appeared on television in the series Heterdaad ("Caught Red Handed") in the role of police inspector Willy Martens.
On the set of Heterdaad he met Joachim Lafosse, with whom he made several films, among them Tribu,[1] Ça rend heureux, and Nue Propriété.
He wrote a theatrical play, Lied ("Song") which is largely autobiographical, telling about three generations of Flemings (his grandfather, his father and himself), the war, and the coal mining strikes in Limburg.
Cuppens teaches about drama and theatre in Maastricht, Leuven, Antwerp and Brussels.