In addition, the examples on the page appear to fall into three distinctly different categories, that do not feel like the same trope to me:
1) A background character suddenly takes center stage, and this is how that character is introduced. I think this is what matches the page description. An example (which isn't even on the page currently) would be Finn in The Force Awakens. Stormtroopers are identical to each other and viewers don't think of them as individuals. Then one of them pulls off his helmet to become the film's male lead.
2) A background character is suddenly revealed to be an existing, established character in disguise. See several examples on the page where a character is rescued by their allies, who have posed as mooks.
3) A background character gradually appears more frequently and/or prominently, and becomes a recurring or even main character. Jonathan in Buffy, or O'Brien in Star Trek. Usually, there is nothing deceptive about the character's appearance; they were introduced with the intent of being the minor character they appeared to be, but for whatever reason gelled with the production or the fans and got promoted.
What does this trope have to do with Red Herring? A Red Herring is an obvious clue or suspect that turns out to be a dead end. This seems to be the exact opposite.
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