10 Simple Things Actors Can’t Make Look Convincing

Even though waking up should be easy to act out, there are multiple reasons why it rarely looks believable.

Firstly, most actors wake up too quickly. Few people get out of bed immediately after opening their eyes, unless there's an emergency. It may not be cinematic to watch a groggy person stumble out of bed, but that's the reality of coming out of a deep sleep. But in movies, people who've been awake for 10 seconds have no problem having a full-blown and coherent conversation.

Also, a lot of women in film and television wake up with blowdried hair, eyeliner, lipstick, and makeup. Unless they get dolled up while sleepwalking, this doesn't make sense.

And when a character is having a nightmare, the performer tends to overact like their life depends on it. Rather than acting mildly unsettled, they arise from their slumber sweating profusely, screaming hysterically, and sitting bolt upright.

To be fair, having a scene of someone waking up violently is an effective way to scare the hell out of the viewers, (especially in a horror flick). But unless the sleeper suffers from night terrors, nobody acts this way after having a bad dream.