Finn Karlsson took a mathematical secondary school degree followed by an education as architect in Copenhagen, a profession which he continued to use as one of many artistic interests. He also did some theatre acting and writing, but it was as a film director that he would become well-known. Following training at the Danish Film School his feature debut was Stine og drengene (1969), followed seven more features including a number of the socalled 'potato westerns'. He also wrote screenplays and worked in lower positions on other productions. He is reported to have had an alcohol problem in his later days, before he died at 66 in 2003.