Born into a family of artists, Olivier Cotte studied piano, classical dance and fine arts in parallel with his philosophy degree.

Fascinated by the aesthetics of John Cage and Merce Cunningham, he first wanted to become a contemporary dancer, but then enrolled in the fine arts and the Sorbonne in cinema and literature.

He is a computer graphics designer or responsible for special effects for feature films, in particular for Wim Wenders (Until the End of the World), Roman Polanski (Death and the Maiden), Costa-Gavras (Mad City), Bob Swaim (The Climb), Josiane Balasko (Un grand cri d'amour), Jaco van Dormael (The Eighth Day), Leos Carax (Pola X), and Mathieu Kassovitz (Assassin(s)).

He collaborates with the reading committee of the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée and for many film festivals and cinematheques.

With Jules Stromboni at the drawing, he published Le futuriste, mixing science fiction and fantasy, followed by two adaptations for the Casterman-Rivage collection: L'ultime défi de Sherlock Holmes and L'épouvantail.