He was educated in England at Eastbourne College, Sussex, a graduate of King's College London, and trained for acting at the London Centre For Theatre Studies and Philippe Gaulier school, Paris.
From 2007 to 2008, Coonan attended Philippe Gaulier's L'École Philippe Gaulier in Paris.
Former students at the school include the theatre director Simon McBurney, whose company Theatre de Complicite has been influenced by Gaulier's work, and the actors Emma Thompson, Marcello Magni, Kathryn Hunter, Cal McCrystal and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Philippe Starck | Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans | Philippe II, Duke of Orléans | Philippe Parreno | Philippe Pétain | Philippe Herreweghe | Louis Philippe I | Philippe Pinel | Jean-Philippe Rameau | Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque | Philippe I, Duke of Orléans | Philippe Quinault | Philippe Gilbert | Philippe Entremont | Philippe Beaussant | Philippe Léotard | Philippe Jaroussky | Philippe Douste-Blazy | Philippe d'Orléans | Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil | Philippe C. Schmitter | Philippe Boesmans | Philippe Bercovici | Jean-Philippe Collard | Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans | Prince Ferdinand Philippe | Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou | Philippe Troussier | Philippe Saisse | Philippe Quint |