Set in a small town in Kentucky, Boy Meets Girl is a charming romantic comedy that deals with the unorthodox love triangle between trans girl Ricky (Michelle Hendley), the wealthy, bubbly Francesca (Alexandra Turshen) and Ricky's best friend Robby (Michael Welch) a jock who spends the time talking to his friend about his latest conquests. Written and directed by Eric Schaeffer, the film boldly subverts romantic comedy tropes that go beyond gender and socially acceptable ideas of who should be attracted to whom, and why. Filled with naturalistic performances by the entire ensemble, it will undoubtedly be mostly remembered for Hendley's star-is-born performance. The young trans actress was discovered by Schaeffer, who felt she should play the lead character after finding her channel on YouTube. Exuding a magnetism that makes you think Ricky would be your very own best friend, Hendley also provides the character with pathos and grounds her with a bittersweet emotional core that make her a real pleasure to watch.

I had the opportunity to talk to the enchanting Hendley about her performance, who were some of her influences growing up, how does she feel about straight male actors playing trans characters and what's next for her after Boy Meets Girl.

I couldn’t believe that this was your first movie! You’re such a natural in front of the camera.

Oh thank you, I appreciate that very much.

How was it though? You were making your debut working with people who have previous experience in both film and television.

It was a really cool experience, they were all really understanding and helped me a lot. Actually I think one of the first takes that we did, I made a mistake and yelled “cut” and that’s a big no-no I quickly found out, because only the director gets to say “cut”. But I learned a lot.

Were the other actors trying to give you tips?

Yeah, during one of the first days we shot that big, emotional climactic scene between Ricky and Robby, and I was kinda angry because it was literally the second day of shooting and I still wasn’t a hundred percent comfortable in front of the camera, and they wanted me to bring in all of this emotion, but Alex [Turshen] was really helpful and coached me a little bit.

You have amazing chemistry with both Alexandra and Michael Welch too!

Alexandra and I spent a couple of weeks rehearsing before the shoot, I stayed with her in New York, so that helped a lot. And Michael, he’s just one of the sweetest, kindest people, we’re still friends, and I was really fortunate to have such a cool cast to work with.

I read that when Erich Schaeffer cast you, you had to make sure that he wasn’t some lunatic trying to kidnap you or something, but I wondered, what about your research of him made you trust him enough to make your film debut with him?

(Laughs) Yes, well I checked his IMDB page and he seemed to be a professional, I knew I had seen If Lucy Fell which starred Sarah Jessica Parker, so I trusted at that point that he was legitimate. So he and I had to Skype before I was comfortable accepting the part, and then of course he had to talk to my dad.

Do you feel that people assume that Ricky is autobiographical just because she is also a trans girl?

Eric liked the fact that I vlogged about my life, so he wanted Ricky to be open as well. People have definitely asked me how much of Ricky is me, and always say that our lives parallel quite a bit, we have gone through some similar experiences in dating and we both have a supportive family. However Ricky has a stronger barrier that she puts up with people, and a tougher edge than I do, I think she’s a little snarkier too.

How do you feel for example when white, heterosexual males like Jared Leto and Eddie Redmayne are called “brave” for playing trans women?

I feel like it’s only helping bring awareness to our community, however until I see trans girls being played only by trans people I think there is a lot of work to be done. In the meantime I don’t have an issue with straight white men playing those roles, as long as we see improvement.

I admire the fact that you were doing vlogs where you sought out to educate people about your transition process. How did that come about?

I started my YouTube page because I’d seen videos of other girls who were documenting their transition and giving help to their online community so I wanted to contribute to that, and I have received such amazing support and love. I get contacted by people from all over the world, by parents of trans girls who are reaching out to me. I love being able to help out, especially now when people are talking about the trans movement, it’s a conversation that we’re having, so it’s important that we give good information and that we’re patient with people, and that they aren’t afraid to ask questions.

You’re also very active on social media, which makes you seem so accessible!

Yeah, I try to respond to people there as much as possible, because I don’t want them to think I’m full of myself, and to let them know that I am listening.

Usually romantic comedies stay away from sex. I remember growing up watching Meg Ryan’s and Tom Hanks’ movies and I would identify so much with Meg Ryan, and it always made me wonder if romantic comedies are the best genre at developing audience empathy regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

I think so, I think when there is a lot of sex and nudity it adds a different edge to the story, I think romantic comedies focus more on the emotional aspects of a relationship or a love affair. I’m glad Boy Meets Girl had some sex in it, because I think at least right now, not many people understand what it is to be trans, they don’t understand that just because I’m a trans female I’m not attracted to only one kind of people, people don’t understand that you can identify yourself one way and be attracted to whoever you want. People are tied to labels and definitions of who they are, so I’m glad that the film wasn’t only just about sex, for example with my nude scene, Eric made sure it was very tasteful, because I didn’t want it to be about the “shock factor”, I wanted to show “this is a transgender body and it’s not going to threaten you”.

I loved the fact that Ricky is so open about sex though, she even gives Robby a hard time which reflects the fact that people are very conservative when it comes to discussing their sex lives.

My friends and I have always been very out there about that kind of stuff. What I love is that those conversations in the movie, are conversations I’ve had with people my whole life, especially after I started transition. I’m a pretty open individual and I’m not afraid to talk about this topic, as long as it’s not weird things (laughs).

Who were some of your favorite actresses?

Uma Thurman has always been one of my favorites, Kill Bill is by far my favorite movie of all time, since I saw it when I was in like the sixth grade, I love Reese Witherspoon and I love, love Meg Ryan, my mom and I watch her movies all the time. Laverne Cox cause obviously. Who else?

I was wondering if Ricky’s hairdo came from Zooey Deschanel.

I get compared to her and I’m flattered, but I’m not trying to be like her. I also get compared to Cobie Smulders.

What’s next for you?

I’m being offered parts right now which is amazing, and the next move would be to move to New York or LA, I’m leaning more towards New York though…

Boy Meets Girl opens in theaters on February 6.