It’s an uncharacteristically warm November afternoon when Jordan Todosey walks into Chinatown’s Sonic Café. She’s perky and sweet as she introduces herself to the crew and I’m struck not only by her modest confidence but also by how vastly different the 16-year-old actress looks from Adam Torres, the female-to-male transgender character she plays on MuchMusic’s hit show Degrassi.

Wearing layers of tanks and an off-the-shoulder tee, Todosey pulls off an edgy but girly vibe. Her ears hold rows of earrings that include a reddish purple feather and chains; I later overhear her telling my editor she made some of the accessories herself.

Like her character, Jordan is in a life stage of transition. When we step outside into the alley behind the café for her photo shoot, she perfectly displays this juxtaposition as she poses in front of a purple brick wall. Ethereal, soft and feminine in a black lace short sleeve overlay and pink tulle skirt, she poses gracefully, gliding between shots.

The mature and articulate Todosey has been working at her acting career since the age of 9, when her peers were still daydreaming about the Jonas Brothers, and now, still just a teenager, she has taken on a challenging role rife with gender politics and controversy.

Jordan’s portrayal of an FTM (female-to-male) transgender teen character is the first of its kind on primetime television. The role recently earned Todosey a Gemini at the 2011 awards show, where she took home the Best Performance in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series award for the episode titled “My Body Is A Cage, Part 2.” She recalls her acceptance speech, laughing, “I looked like a stuttering idiot. I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t even speak.”

The life of Jordan Todosey is thoroughly overwhelming, as these past few years have been demanding yet triumphant for the girl who started acting after seeing a Rogers commercial. “There was a little girl in the commercial and I remember watching her and thinking, ‘I want to be on TV; I want to do that!’ There was a number on the bottom of the screen I’d always want to call to ask, ‘Can I be on TV?’ ”

In the past seven years, Jordan has not only made her way into commercials (her first ad was for a popular juice brand in which she says she was “totally horrible”) but has become a regular on several shows, including the Family Channel series Life With Derek. Additionally, she appeared in feature films like The Stone Angel (2007) with Ellen Burstyn and Ellen Page and The Pacifier (2005) alongside Vin Diesel and Lauren Graham.

Jordan pauses our conversation when I ask about working with an A-list cast to remark that she loves the Bon Iver song playing in the café. The music lover follows the Toronto indie scene closely and has quietly been working on her own EP, a mix of acid pop, jazz and rock that is lightly inspired by her childhood love of animé. It’s moments like these, when the pensive, thoughtful young woman comes out, that demonstrate the two sides of Jordan.

Since joining the large ensemble cast of Degrassi, there have been many changes for Jordan, both physically and emotionally.

The tomboy-turned-girly-girl was required to chop off her long locks in favour of a pixie cut. She misses experimenting with colours and styles, she tells me, as she listens to the female cast members chat about dealing with their own manes.

I ask if she knew what she was getting herself into when she took the role of Adam. “Yes and no,” she explains. “Obviously I realized that the character would be really hard to take on, but it’s really hard to take on.”

Despite this, she has received positive feedback from the LGBT community. Her publicist tells me that Dancing With The Stars contestant Chaz Bono, who is in his own female-to-male transition, approached Jordan after the Emmy Awards to praise her portrayal of Adam, a compliment of the highest sort.

But how does a girl prepare for this kind of role? “When I change into his clothes and put on the binder, it’s literally a transformation,” she tells me. “It’s Adam, not me.”

The binder that Jordan is talking about is a piece of clothing that she straps around her torso and chest to mask her curves. While painful, it is something that many FTM transgenders wear to give the illusion of a masculine figure.

Considering that Todosey must take on the mannerisms of a male while lowering the register of her voice and wearing the vest, it’s safe to say the role is physically demanding but not out of her comfort zone. “When I go into a character, it’s not me. The character could have a completely different comfort zone than me. I love a challenge.” And she’s serious.

The show has faced challenges from a special interest group in Florida that targeted advertisers buying time on its US broadcaster TeenNick. The special interest group encouraged the advertisers to boycott the show because of Todosey’s character. When I mention the recent controversy, her face goes stone cold. “You know what? Let them ban it. Let people talk about it. It will only make everyone more aware of the issue.”

Writer Michael Grassi, who created Adam, has said that he never wanted the character to feel like a brochure on transgender youth. While Jordan agrees that the show’s writers have realistically interpreted a transition, she doesn’t feel singled out amongst her cast mates as a spokesperson for an entire community.

“Everyone [on Degrassi] has their problems, so we’re each a role model for someone. The whole cast has that kind of responsibility,” she says.

While Degrassi’s demanding schedule keeps Jordan busy, she has other projects in the works. In addition to her EP, she recently wrapped filming on the Lifetime TV movie Secrets of Eden, starring John Stamos and her Degrassi co-star Samantha Munro. Considering all that she has achieved, it is hard to believe she is still in grade 11.

“What I’ve accomplished is what anyone could accomplish,” she says. “Age is just that – age. I just do what I like doing and hope that it all works out.”