Imagine feeling like you're trapped in the wrong body, that there's been some sort of mistake — that you're supposed to be a girl instead of a boy. How would you tell your family and friends that you wanted to change genders? Would you bring it up with someone you had a crush on? And what would you do when society not only refused to accept the new you, but was violent toward you? Well, Eddie Araujo didn't know the answers, but he did know he was supposed to be female, so he began to dress as a girl and changed his name to Gwen.

You won't believe what Gwen endured just to live her life as who she was and feel normal. It's a shocking true story about courage and tolerance, and is sure to stay with you long after the credits roll.

Directed by: Agnieszka Holland
Written by: Shelley Evans

Though he began his career as an elite Ford model, young actor J.D. Pardo is now working on becoming a breakout TV and movie star. He's already appeared on shows such as "American Dreams" and "Clubhouse," and has guest starred on "Veronica Mars" and "CSI: Miami." Pardo has also been seen on the big screen in movies such as "A Cinderella Story," alongside Chad Michael Murray and Hilary Duff, and "Supercross," with Robert Carradine.

In this New Original Movie, Pardo takes on a difficult role both physically and emotionally as a transgender teen. He plays the real-life Eddie Araujo, an adolescent boy who lived his life as a girl named Gwen. "Gwen had to deal with so many little challenges that we take for granted every day," says Pardo. "Her courage to be herself is extremely inspiring."

Read about Pardo's costar, Mercedes Ruehl.

Check out this exclusive interview with the actor.

Garnering numerous awards on-screen and onstage, Mercedes Ruehl has mastered the art of portraying strong women. She earned both an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe® for her role in the "The Fisher King." Some of her other feature film credits include "Big," "Married to the Mob" and "Last Action Hero." On the small screen, Ruehl has starred in such popular TV flicks as "All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story" and Lifetime's "Mom at Sixteen." Ruehl also earned both a Tony Award® and an Obie for her theater work.

In this New Original Movie, Ruehl portrays Sylvia Guerrero, a single mom who struggles with the fact that her son is living his life as a girl. "This is a poignant story about a mother who loved her child unconditionally," says Ruehl, even though society did not accept her transgender teen. "There is always more to be learned about tolerance, so this movie is a definite eye-opener," adds Ruehl.

Read about Ruehl's costar, J.D. Pardo.

Check out this exclusive interview with the actress.

Lifetime: What sparked your interest in playing a transgender character?
Pardo: Coming off of shows like "American Dreams" and "Clubhouse," everything seemed very vanilla to me. But I was unfamiliar with the topic of transgender teens, so this role gave me the ability and freedom to immerse myself into something foreign to me.

Lifetime: Do you think society has a hard time accepting transgenders?
Pardo: Absolutely. It's hard for the majority of people to accept what they don't understand. When something comes up that attacks people's beliefs, their first reaction tends to be fear.

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Lifetime: How was it working with Mercedes Ruehl?
Pardo: Mercedes was such a professional and so comforting. Because of the enormous responsibility I was putting on myself to do the role justice, every time I finished a take, she'd tell me, "You did great" or "You're so powerful." She was a great support.

Lifetime: How did you prepare for this role?
Pardo: I watched a lot of documentaries about transgenders. To make myself believable, I lost about 18 pounds to fit into a dress, took voice training to find my own girl voice and waxed my eyebrows — I'm still waiting for them to grow back! I also went out and bought a wig, put on some makeup and capri pants and just walked around. That was hard.

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Lifetime: How was it meeting the real mom of the character you portrayed?
Pardo: She was just so encouraging, and very open about what happened to her daughter. It's a lot for a mom to handle. I really have a deep admiration for her.

Lifetime: What was the hardest scene to shoot?
Pardo: Every day was hard. But I'd have to say the hardest were scenes where I had to wear a corset. I don't know how women breathe in those things! But it was all fun and really worth it.

Lifetime: What's next for you?
Pardo: I'm trying to figure that out right now, but I'm looking forward to just playing a guy again!

See what Pardo's costar Mercedes Ruehl had to say about working on the film.

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Lifetime: How did you prepare for playing the role of Sylvia Guerrero, Gwen Araujo's mother?
Ruehl: The time of preparation was pretty short. I saw whatever footage there was on the real Sylvia, and the powerful memoir "She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders" by Jennifer Finney Boylan (about the author's transformation from a man to a woman) taught me a lot about the experience. It told me almost everything I needed to know in a courageous, humorous and deeply factual way.

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Lifetime: What appealed to you about taking this role in the first place?
Ruehl: I watched interviews with Sylvia on the "Today" show and "Dateline," and her story sounded very interesting. I also have an eight-year-old son who is a very tenderhearted guy, so this role appealed to the mother in me as well.

Lifetime: How do you think you would react if one of your children wanted to change their gender?
Ruehl: I would feel distressed for my child because of what he would have to go through. Once it had been communicated to me about what the condition is really about, I would like to think that I would be open to every avenue to helping my child.

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Lifetime: Why do you think society has such a hard time accepting transgender people?
Ruehl: Society historically has a difficult time with the concept of something new and foreign that shakes up our comfortable views — especially if it involves the very volatile question of sexual identity. We have the tendency to condemn what we don't understand.

Lifetime: How was it meeting the real Sylvia while you were filming?
Ruehl: We connected over a dream I'd had the week prior to filming; it was about finding a little boy who was lost. It was a very real dream, and when I told her about it she was very moved, because we both had an instinctual feeling that it had something to do with Gwen and the film.

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Lifetime: What did you learn from making this
movie?
Ruehl: I learned a lot more about transgenders. It's not a choice, but a physiological condition that has to do with the size of the hypothalamus part of the brain. In this case, it was the brain of a girl in the body of a boy. Nature chooses who will be transgender; individuals don't choose this. Also, there is always more to be learned about tolerance, so doing this movie was kind of an eye-opener for me.

Lifetime: What's next for you?
Ruehl: I recently completed a pilot called "Mr. Invincible," written by Paul Reiser. Also, this summer I'm doing a play called "Viva la Vida!" about the queen of Mexican Modernism, Frida Kahlo, at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, New York.

See what Ruehl's costar J.D. Pardo thought about the challenges of his role.

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The following organizations are working to end discrimination and promote tolerance in schools and communities nationwide:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

National Center for Transgender Equality

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

Transgender Law Center

YWCA

>> More on the Gwen Araujo story can be found in famed lawyer Gloria Allred's book "Fight Back and Win"