Is Jennifer Lawrence's nude line-up common practice?

Many were shocked when Jennifer Lawrence revealed she was forced to stand in a "nude line-up" as part of a film casting.

She described the experience as "degrading and humiliating".

The actress spoke in light of recent allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of rape, sexual assault and harassment.

He has "unequivocally denied" the claims against him and said all sexual relationships he had were consensual.

But Lawrence's revelations raise questions about whether her casting experience is commonplace in Hollywood and the wider film industry.

Brendan McNamara, who worked as a casting assistant on The Bourne Supremacy, described Lawrence's ordeal as "an awful situation", which "isn't representative of the industry as a whole".

He now has his own casting company and makes British independent films, and said his job is to "make actors feel as comfortable as possible to get the best performance for our directors and producers".

"We want to put them in a position where they can give us their best and not feel awkward," he told BBC News.

"I've never had to do anything that might be risque, but if I did, we would contact their agent beforehand to make the actor fully aware and make sure they are comfortable with what we are doing.

When asked about standing naked in a line-up with other women at a casting and being told to lose weight by a casting director, McNamara added: "I don't think that's a normal process at all".

"It just seems horrible and cruel.

"It's not a casting director's job to say how someone looks or tell them to lose weight, it's our job to find someone who's right for the role."

He added that on his low-budget indie British films he now works on, "we try to treat everyone with the upmost respect and all these stories coming out are awful".

"I'm sure the Weinstein stories are not isolated, these people are in positions of power where they take advantage of those that are vulnerable."

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