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-->'''Crow''': ''So, basically, the hero is this guy. I think it's time we faced that fact.''
-->-- ''MST3K'', about Vadinho in ''PumaMan''

The term Darkhorse has its origin in horse racing. A relatively unknown horse would be risky to place bets on, compared to a known horse, because the gamblers would be "in the dark", so when an unknown horse won a race it was called a Darkhorse victory. The term is also used in politics to describe a lesser known candidate who does better than expected in an election.

Here the term can be used to refer to one of two things. Generally, it's used to describe a side character making up part of the Ensemble, either a non-lead secondary character or a mere FlatCharacter, who can sometimes become [[PopularityPower unexpectedly popular]] with the fandom (sometimes, even more than the lead characters) depending on who and [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff where]] the fandom is. It can also refer to a lead character who wasn't intended to be any more noticeable, stranger, or more likable than the rest of the cast, but manages to become a clear fan favorite in any case.

The writers or producers may be tempted to ReTool the show's premise to put them in the spotlight. Sometimes this works, but usually it's a bad idea for two reasons, both relating to what happens when you take a supporting character and move him or her into the protagonist's position. The first is that writers often "adjust" the character so that s/he can fit into a conventionally heroic role - in the process [[BadassDecay destroying the unconventional traits]] that made the character an Ensemble Darkhorse in the first place. The second is that if the writers ''don't'' do this, traits that were entertaining in a secondary character may become grating and unpleasant in the protagonist.

However, it's still good business to bring Darkhorse characters back, even if they were originally meant to be featured for only a short time. Thus, episodes which do not specifically require a certain character will be more likely to use the Ensemble Darkhorse.

In {{anime}}, these characters often receive elevated popularity by becoming the grain in the mill of [[MemeticMutation strange Internet memes]].

See also BreakoutCharacter, AscendedExtra, LowerDeckEpisode, ADayInTheLimelight, and OneSceneWonder. The polar opposite of this trope is TheWesley -- a character who becomes prominent ''despite'' the fans' wishes. A character who becomes popular, despite the author's intentions, is DracoInLeatherPants -- an example of MisaimedFandom.

A planned-to-be-one-shot antagonist that becomes ''the'' central antagonist of a series or mythos, via EnsembleDarkhorse, is an example of TheMoriartyEffect.

The natural extension of this is the SpotlightStealingSquad. Not to be confused with DarkhorseComics.

----
!!Examples:

*EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Anime}}
*EnsembleDarkhorse/ComicBooks
*EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Film}}
*EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Literature}}
*EnsembleDarkhorse/LiveActionTV
*EnsembleDarkhorse/VideoGames
*EnsembleDarkhorse/WesternAnimation

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* When TheBeachBoys' Brian Wilson suffered an emotional breakdown in 1965 and decided to quit touring with the group, Bruce Johnston (previously of Beach Boys soundalike group the Rip Chords) was hired to take over his role playing bass onstage. By the end of the year Johnston was joining the Beach Boys in the studio and later became an integral part of their late '60s/early '70s recordings, even writing songs like "Disney Girls" for them.
** Moreso Dennis Wilson, who went from being the under-appreciated drummer to writing such classics as "Forever", to the point that his solo album, "Pacific Ocean Blue", charted higher and was more critically acclaimed than the Beach Boys album released that same year.
* The "[[TheQuietOne quiet]]" [[TheBeatles Beatle]] George Harrison, who lived in the shadow of the Lennon-[=McCartney=] songwriting powerhouse. Immediately after the band broke up he was the first of the four to score a #1 hit, and his album "All Things Must Pass" is to this day the top selling album by any solo Beatle. His ballad "Something" is also the second most frequently covered Beatles song after "Yesterday," and even John Lennon once remarked "it's the best damn song on the whole album."

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]

* [[EgyptianMythology Anubis]] in more modern times. He wasn't that central to the original canon, but he's so much more interesting than the chief gods like Ra or Osiris. Also, it's hard to find [[DarkIsNotEvil a death god who's an okay guy.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

* ''{{Mutts}}'' began with only Earl the dog and his owner Ozzie. Mooch the cat was supposed to appear for just one arc. Now he has at least as much importance and face time as Earl. As the cartoonist puts it, "You know how cats have a way of taking over the place."
* ''{{Dilbert}}'' has at least two cases in which one-shot characters joined the main cast by popular demand: Ratbert and Catbert. Scott Adams hadn't even named the latter when he got deluged with emails for "more Catbert."
** Dogbert once summed up this trope while discussing [[NoIndoorVoice LOUD HOWARD]]:
-->'''Dogbert''': ''A disturbing number of you have requested the return of Loud Howard. Loud Howard is one-dimensional. There is nothing clever or insightful about him. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin He is simply loud]]. It is a mystery why anyone would want more of this guy.''\\
'''Loud Howard''': ''THEY LOVE ME!''
*Opus, the main character of BloomCounty and two other comic strips by Berke Breathed, was originally intended to appear for one week-long arc, but after an enormous amount of fanmail, the author promoted him to a recurring character. Finally, after a huge fan response to [[http://philogynist.64k.ca/Images/November%202006/fav_strip1_full.jpg one particular]] Sunday strip featuring Opus, he became the main character of the comic.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Hans appeared [[http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardsearch.php?singlesearch=Lhurgoyf exactly once]] on a single card in ''MagicTheGathering'', and never anywhere else, but the flavor text was popular enough that he [[http://sales.starcitygames.com/carddisplay.php?product=34962 got]] [[http://sales.starcitygames.com//carddisplay.php?product=9228 multiple]] [[http://sales.starcitygames.com//carddisplay.php?product=42675 references]] later on including a short story in the anthology Monsters of Magic (called "Ach! Hans, Run!"). Arguably, Norin the Wary similarly qualifies, having been elevated from the voice of cowardice on a handful of cards' flavor text to eventually receiving his own (also cowardly) creature card.
* In the ''{{Legend of the Five Rings}}'' CCG, Toku was originally an unaligned, free card with no abilities and no use other than being fed to demons. Fans enjoyed the idea of Toku so much that they started the "Toku for Emperor" movement, attempting to influence the game's interactive storyline. As a result, Toku became a major player in the game's storyline, going from a peasant who stole a dead samurai's sword to a real samurai, friend of the Emperor, Captain of the Imperial Guard, founder of a Clan, and (posthumously) a minor diety.
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' has a few examples. Inspired greatly by the example of [[DefectorFromDecadence Drizzt]] above, [[OurElvesAreBetter drow]] are a perennial favorite as PlayerCharacters despite the race originally being AlwaysChaoticEvil. Future splatbooks expanded greatly on drow culture and options for drow players. They're even included as a PC race in the Fourth Edition ''ForgottenRealms'' setting.
** This is lampooned in the webcomic ''OrderOfTheStick'', where Nale's "Linear Guild" includes a Drow whose presence prompts the heroes to question, "Aren't Dark Elves evil?" Nale "explains" that that was before they were a player-character race; "The race now consists of nothing but Chaotic Good rebels struggling to throw off the reputation of their Evil brethren." "I thought you said they were all Chaotic Good?" "Details."
** Another surprisingly popular race is ''kobolds'', of all things. Despite their status as first-level CannonFodder (though their affinity for traps can make them [[NotSoHarmless more dangerous than you'd think]]), they've gotten a great deal of expansion in various splatbooks, including the 3.5 Edition ''Races Of The Dragon''. One of the more infamous GameBreaker builds for the edition, "Pun-Pun", is a kobold.
**Its kind of helped that the kobolds have been the setting's {{Butt Monkey}}s for so long that they've pretty much run all the way around on the opposite end of the sympathy scale to become [[TheWoobie woobies]] in their own right. Plus, nothing feels more satisfying than bringing down the BBEG with a small, scrawny lizard normally considered a CR of 1/6.
** Which leads to then becoming utter badass [[http://commissarkinyaf.deviantart.com/art/Kobold-Kommando-2-77994119 Commandos]].
** The ''Tome of Magic'' Binder class is surprisingly popular considering the other 2/3s of ''Tome of Magic'' are the mechanically unplayable Truenamer and the mechanically odd Shadowcaster.
*** In similar vein, "Complete Psionic" is [[InternetBackdraft widely panned]] as [[DisContinuity the worst of the "Completes"]] line released for 3.5. However, one class in the book (the Ardent) is acclaimed for its balanced play, appealing flavor and unique approach to psionics.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theater ]]

* Perhaps one of the biggest examples in theater is WilliamShakespeare's Falstaff, a buffoonish companion to Prince Hal in the ''Henry IV'' plays. The plays were intended to celebrate Henry IV, while Falstaff is written as a poor influence who must be shunned once the prince matures. Despite Falstaff's negative characterization, he proved a fan favorite. The audience's sympathy for the character is evident in ''Henry V'', where his death is described in heroic terms. Finally Shakespeare decided to fully cash in on Falstaff's popularity by ripping him out of his previous continuity and plopping him in modern day Elizabethan times to star in his very own comedy, ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. An apocryphal story holds that Queen Elizabeth asked Shakespeare to write a play about Falstaff in love because he was her favorite character.
** Mercutio is another Shakespearan ensemble darkhorse, apppearing in ''RomeoAndJuliet'' and getting the lion's share of good lines before his death marks the play's turn into tragedy.
* ArthurMiller's play ''DeathOfASalesman'' is considered one of the greatest American plays -- not at all for the reasons Miller intended, but he knew why. Looking back, he wished he'd focused more on the character Biff, the protagonist Willy Loman's son.
* A real-life example that catapulted the ''actor's'' fame: Miss Marmelstien, a piece of ChristmasCake who laments her lack of a beau from the little-known musical ''I Can Get It For You Wholesale.'' The character sounds like, and was intended to be, a supporting character - until they cast BarbraStreisand in that role, her first Broadway role, and she stole every scene she was in. Supposedly her last line of the show won her a standing ovation.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Toys ]]

* Takua in ''{{Bionicle}}'' started out as the {{AFGNCAAP}} of a little-known Game Boy Advance game. After he was again the main character in an very successful online game (moving from AFGNCAAP to having his own identity only at the very end), his popularity exploded. In 2003, he was the star of his own direct-to-video movie where he became Toa Takanuva and released as a toy set ''twice'' (once as Takua and once as Takanuva). Then he and the other 2003 characters returned in 2008 (complete with new toy figures), with Takanuva being the star of the first Level 3 Readers book and having an online blog that narrates the events of the final (regular) book.
* Although it is connected to the various animated shows, most of the characters from the original G1 {{Transformers}} have been brought back in some form or another. Most notably are the "Seekers", Thundercracker and Skywarp in particular. Part of the reason for their popularity is the fact that they can be easily churned out via simply repainting a line's Starscream (which often leads to the awkward event where a line will feature all three of the original Seekers even when only Starscream appears in the actual cartoon being made to promote the line.
**The popularity of the Seekers came out at it's clearest when Hasbro, having killed the popular Transformers Classic line to focus solely on the BrokenBase Transformers live action movie, dumped the remaining Seeker figures (the second wave of Seekers and Thundercracker) into an ultra-rare 2006 Botcon set. Needless to say, Transformer fans shat bricks over the fact that they were denied a chance to all the Classic versions of the Seekers, since Botcon sets are made in ultra-low quality and the massive desire for the figures ensuring that the few that made it to the secondary market would sell for $100 and up PER FIGURE.
*The Alley Viper figure from the original GI Joe line has a huge cult following amongst GI Joe fans, to such an extent that it was quickly re-released within two years of it's initial run in circulation.
**Same with the Crimson Guard figures; this was most notable during the GI Joe Vs Cobra/Valor Vs Venom years, when Hasbro built a new Crimson Guard mold and opted to not release as part of the regular series, opting to make the figure a Toys 'R Us exclusive. To ease fan anger, the figure was largely released in a series of army builder sets, meaning fans buying the figure could build their own units without having to buy multiple figures.


[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* Sasha from ''SluggyFreelance'', Riff's girlfriend for under two years out of the strip's 10+ year run, enjoys lasting popularity despite not having been seen in-continuity since moving to Seattle in mid-2002.
**[[spoiler:She's back. It only took 7 years.]]
***[[spoiler: And out again 'cause the story switched to Riff which is alone in another dimension, and is probably going to focus on him for at last a year, if the least 3 storylines involving characters stranded in other dimensions (BunBun in one, Nerdboy and his sword in another, and Nerdboy and Aylee in the third) are to be taken as hints.]]
**** Nope. [[spoiler:The viewpoint has already switched back, after only about a month.]]
** There was also Bert, Torg's artist friend with a disturbing obsession with crotches. He proved to be so popular, [[spoiler: his life was spared in the KITTEN arc, which was written with the full intent of killing off a bunch of secondary characters.]]
*** [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Pete then made the mistake of overusing him and even sort of added him to the main cast. Without giving him any further development, his popularity plummeted. When the second KITTEN arc rolled around, Bert was finally KilledOffForReal.]]
* Branch, from ''Home on the Strange''. [[http://www.homeonthestrange.com/view.php?ID=97 This is how she started out]] - as a person [[TheScrappy even the other characters couldn't stand]]. A more unlikely EnsembleDarkhorse has never been seen, but [[http://www.homeonthestrange.com/view.php?ID=101 exactly one sentence]] of CharacterDevelopment made her TheWoobie and a fan favorite.
* Originally, Nale was supposed to be the only member of the [[EvilTwin Linear Guild]] who survived their encounter with the ''[[OrderOfTheStick Order Of The Stick]]''. But fans latched on to the PsychopathicManChild Thog, so Rich Burlew made him (and Nale's girlfriend Sabine) recurring villains.
** Then of course there's [[MemeticBadass O-Chul]] and That Guy With A Halberd.
** Not forgetting Daigo and Kazumi Kato, formerly Soldier #1 and Soldier #2.
*** I got the impression that they are made this ''on purpose''
* Cassie [=SinClair=] from ''TheWotch'' seems to have a much bigger following than main character Anne Onymous, despite her appearances in canon being rather sporadic.
** This is probably due to shipping: Robin/Cassie is much more popular than Robin/Anne. Also, her sporadic appearances seem to help her avoid the IdiotBall.
** Also, in a less typical example, despite the main comic making Jason's receiving of a GenderBender as a major running gag it seems to be more popular in fan work to apply it to Robin instead.
* Zexion from ''AnsemRetort'' is a prime example of this trope. Originally planned to be the straight man to Axel, he gradually became more of the {{jerkass}}, and his popularity grew with it. By Season 2, his gradual descent into being a jackass had become a free fall. His popularity grew to the point that Season 3 focused entirely on him, he's featured in the intro image to the website, and is arguably the most popular character in the entire series.
* A Darkhorse Race would be the Jaegers in ''GirlGenius''. Originally amusing background characters, they were so popular that they became a major plot element and 3 joining the main cast.
** More specifically, [[FanNickname Da Boyz]], a trio of Jaegermonsters sent to find an remaining Heterodynes. Also the Girl Genius Wiki has a suprising amount of support for the ''nyar spider'', a small spider that appears in one comic, wraps up a bad guy for dinner, and is promptly squished. People were oddly happy when it turned out this was a species, not an individual.
* Steve from ''QuestionableContent'' really only exists to give Marten a male friend, but he has a loyal following that wonder what he's up to during his long absences from the comic. When the answers [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1350 are like this]], it's no wonder.
** The fourth-wall breaking filler character "Sweet-Tits" became an instant favourite, despite only appearing twice and never being coloured or given a proper name.
*** And according to the results of a recent poll, the most popular character (by far, scoring twice as many votes as the runner up) is... ...[[TheWoobie Hanners!]] It surprised the hell out of the author.
*** Pintsize ''used'' to be the Darkhorse. Sadly, now he's either been {{BrotherChuck}}ed, or DemotedToExtra. YourMilageMayVary on this one.
* Kamikaze Kate from ''{{Misfile}}'' has managed to be far more popular than her number of appearances would seem to warrant.
* ''OzyAndMillie'' has had a handful of one-shot, or even one-panel, characters who gained a fandom. They include Edwin the clueless juror, Emily the schoolgirl skunk, and Stevie the black cat. The latter two have reappeared on occasions when the cartoonist needed extra students, but they remain [[FlatCharacter flat]].
* Doctor Hot from ''CheckerboardNightmare''. The author rolled with it and expanded his role, to further fan approval, but that didn't mean he had to like it. As his cast page describes him:
-->''Hacky, sensationalist TV pop psychologist who appeared in ONE LOUSY PANEL whose single-word catch phrase has been adopted by "Checkerboard Nightmare" fans.''
* In ''IrregularWebcomic'' we have the Allosaurus. First have a very few apperance, but fans grow very, ''very'' attached to him, and basically on of the answers that someone will always hack into any poll in the site.
** In a fan poll, the most popular character was... {{Death}} of [[KillItWithFire Insanely Overpowered Fireballs]], surpassing by a wide margin even the author, Steve, and Draak.
* In ''DominicDeegan'' we have Caylin Bren, [[BlondGuysAreEvil evil blonde leader]] of The Chosen. Caylin's head got exploded by Luna, but there's just enough evidence suggesting he could have lived through it that it didn't quiet his fans. He was also written into the maligned Snowsong story arc, appearing in several flashback strips.
* Katherine from ''[[WapsiSquare Wapsi Square]]'', a fairly minor supporting character, developed a fanbase rivaling most others, prior to the [[CerebusSyndrome major shift in subject and tone]]. Fan demand led to her being one of the few supporting characters who were carried over after the change; although her role remains minor.
* [[SlightlyDamned Buwaro's]] CompanionCube treatment of his pet rock [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/dragonfly/dragonfly-origins1.jpg has]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/dragonfly/dragonfly-origins2.jpg rubbed]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/dragonfly/dragonfly-origins3.jpg off]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/soshika/soshika-clockworkthadius.gif on]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/FIZ/FIZ-thadiusmkii.jpg the]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/yoyobionicle/yoyobionicle-itsthadius.jpg fans]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/rodylg/rodylg-therockfell%20HAIKU.gif to]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/liam/liam-jealousbuwaro.jpg a]] [[RefugeInAudacity ridiculous]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/kimisakitsune/kimisakitsune-unf.png degree]]. Who even [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/fanart/coshidragonite/coshidragonite-fanmail.jpg themselves]]. (Warning: "degree" is NSWF if you work with [[DiscWorld silicon-based]] [[AllTrollsAreDifferent lifeforms]]
* Bard from ''[[EightBitTheater 8-bit Theater]]'' was only seen in a one-panel gag as the "fifth Light Warrior" who was unmade by Sarda [[RetGone before his birth]]. He is quite commonly mentioned in the comic's forum, with some members even managing to trick a few people that he actually was in the comic at first and the creator retroactively replaced earlier strips with Bard-free strips. Although, to be fair, he actually did do something like that before, but on a much smaller scale.
** There's also King Steve, the [[TheCaligula insane]] and [[RalphWiggum utterly retarded]] CloudCuckooLander ruler of Corneria.
* Kingsonnn Dededoo from [[BrawlInTheFamily Brawl in the Family]] initially appeared in one of the gag-a-day strips, but became a fan favorite on the forums. He has since made at least one more appearence.
* Dr. Lee, from SkinHorse by Shaenon Garrity and Jeffrey Channing. She was in one series, as the {{Meganekko}} [[HotScientist repressed]] MadScientist and one of the antagonists, but she is still being requested by fans, and drawn in fan art,
* Regina from ''[[DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' appeared for a single panel in a flashback, then got an almost-blank [[http://web.archive.org/web/20060518005135/http://www.missmab.com/Cast/regina.php cast page]] a few years later. Her resultant fan following was... mind-boggling. Readers' minds were boggled right back when she finally [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_963.php appeared out of nowhere]] in 2009.
* The [[HarkAVagrant fat Shetland Pony]] from ''[[KateBeaton Hark! A Vagrant!]]'' has developed quite a fan following, considering that he was created for a one-off strip about a horse pooping.
* [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The Wayward Vagabond]] from the MSPaintAdventures series ''{{Homestuck}}'' has gained quite a large following on the forums despite only recently becoming a playable character.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Animation ]]

* In the ''HomestarRunner'' toons, Strong Bad started out as a villain who was always doomed to lose to Homestar. Now he's debatably the most popular character, and definitely one of the most recognisable.
** To a lesser extent, there's Homsar. He first appeared as a one-shot gag to make fun of a typo, and over time, has been promoted up the ranks to become part of the main cast. HR's creators have [[SeriouslyThoughNo joked]] about avoiding giving Homsar his own cartoon since they would never need to use him again.
*** Same goes for Senor Cardgage.
*** Trogdor and Stinkoman (Strong Bad's [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue-haired]] anime counterpart) are also very popular with the fans. They even appear together in the fifth episode of [=SBCG4AP=]!
** Also Eh! Steve from the ShowWithinAShow ''Sweet Cuppin' Cakes''. Strong Bad insists that the main character is Sherlock, some kind of "mix between a cow and a helicopter" who is constantly trying ([[FailureIsTheOnlyOption and failing]]) to get a worm out of the ground, and that Eh! Steve is a background character who delivers his CatchPhrase once an episode. Nevertheless, Eh! Steve is vastly more popular and a much more recognizable symbol of the show.
** Teen Girl Squad is another good example.
** Strong Bad Lampshades this, along with TheOtherDarrin in the email [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail177.html original]]. After the departure of "Original Bubs," his temporary replacement "Onion Bubs" became a fan favorite.
** Played straight in-universe in Strong Bad's commentary for an old King of Town toon. He hates every single thing about it except for the Blacksmith.
--->'''Strong Bad''': Oh, now ''this'' guy had some class. The Blacksmith, that guy was a good guy. I hung out with him after the cartoon; yeah, we had some good times...
* RedVsBlue has Caboose for whom the writers originally had no real plans other than for him to be a catalyst to annoy Church. Once he devolved into the RalphWiggum of the group, he became very popular with the fandom however.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* There is a fine [[spoiler:''literal'']] example of this in ''DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'': Bad Horse, who gets only a couple of songs and a brief cameo at the end. Nonetheless, he's become quite popular in the fandom.
** Bad Horse, Bad Horse! He rides across the nation, the Thoroughbred of Sin!
***[[http://whiteknightproductions.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/the-bad-horse-facts Bad Horse's iron hoofs are made from the skin of Tony Stark.]]
* In the ''LoadingReadyRun'' fandom, Andrew Cownden is extremely popular despite not being a member of the core Loading Ready Run crew. The reasons for this are most likely his acting ability, the infrequency with which he appears, and his awesome accent.
* Dad from ''AwesomeVideoGames'' is very big with the show's fandom, to the point where they requested he get an episode all to himself. [[ADayInTheLimelight He eventually did get one with a larger focus on him]], where he transformed the show into "Computer Entertainment Related Programming" to review a golf game on the NES.
* Originally just a mention in the WhateleyUniverse, Aquerna has become this trope. She's one of the least powerful students at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]], and became popular enough that one of the {{Canon}} authors is now writing Aquerna stories too.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other ]]

* Good, old [[PoorPredictableRock rock]], ain't nothing that can beat that.
* Pluto, the former planet. The outrage when it was downgraded to planetoid was unprecedented.
* This troper had been involved in a high school production of ''The Robber Bridegroom''. One actress, who only had a silent role and had only been listed in the chorus lineup, proved so popular she got an actual listing among the main cast for the second run.
* VoiceActors are quite possibly the biggest example of an Ensemble Darkhorse when it comes to actors. The Animation fanbase online quite often love various Voice Actors for all the work they do in Animation (and to a lesser extent Video games) and are often guests in various conventions. Unfortunately often enough they are generally the only audience that these people truly have. Which the fact that often enough they get little pay and companies often seem to see them as nothing more than cheap disposable labor is considered all the more disheartening. But sadly if you talk about Voice actors to normal people chances are they most likely will have no idea what your talking about. (The only exceptions are generally folks whom either use to be/[[CelebrityVoiceActor still are]] well known for screen acting.)
** Unfortunately it doesn't help that often enough many [[VocalMinority vocal]] fans of Voice actors are young adults [[PeripheryDemographic who are often not the Target Demographic of the shows they watch.]]
** Though to be fair certain VoiceActors have made good efforts in trying to give Voice Actors more credit and exposure in the Mainstream Media so more people will know who they are. MelBlanc is easily the first and most prominent example here (though he is not the only one.) Not too mention on how there have been stories of Voice Actors who are glad they have a fairly anonymous appearance in the industry. (It might seem strange but then again considering how horrifically exploitative the media can be about certain other types of performers you probably couldn't blame them.)
* A rather meta example is [[{{Wikipedia}} Wikipe-tan]] being mentioned as one in TVTropesTheWebcomic.
* If you remember the old commercials for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you'd remember three bakers...but if you saw any now you'd see only one. Guess who was the most popular and soon became the SpotlightStealingSquad?
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