Coppin is a fourth-generation Californian born in Roseville, California, the second child of Ronald and Gayle (Terry) Coppin. He was raised in the Sacramento suburbs of Rancho Cordova and Carmichael, California. The Coppin family are also long-term residents of Stinson Beach, California. Coppin attended Rio Americano High School and California State University, Sacramento before migrating to Australia aged 19, where he attended and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He now divides his time between the United States and Australia after residing in Sydney for many years working in theatre, film and television. In 2001 Coppin moved to Melbourne with Jane Borghesi where the couple married in 2006. They have one son.