Mick Coulter was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1952. He entered the film industry through his director brother-in-law, the late Charles Gormley, and began his career working across a range of roles, from production assistant to camera assistant, before becoming a freelance camera operator.
In the late 1970s, Coulter began a long-running collaboration with writer-director Bill Forsyth, photographing Forsyth’s first two feature films, That Sinking Feeling (1979) and Gregory’s Girl (1980). During this period, he also worked extensively on documentaries and as an assistant to cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn on Bertrand Tavernier’s Une Semaine de Vacances and Coup de Torchon.
Between 1982 and 1984, Coulter worked as camera operator for Academy Award-winning cinematographer Chris Menges on Forsyth’s Local Hero and Comfort and Joy. He later became director of photography on three further Forsyth films: Housekeeping, Breaking In, and Being Human. He was invited to join the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) in 1988.
Coulter’s first feature film as director of photography was No Surrender (1985), after stepping up from his role as camera operator shortly before production began. Since then, he has photographed numerous feature films and television commercials worldwide, collaborating with directors including Ang Lee, Mike Newell, Roger Michell, Richard Curtis, Terence Davies, John Madden, and Chris Addison.
His feature credits include Sense and Sensibility, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, The Bank Job, The Long Day Closes, and The Hustle.