Executives behind Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones' upcoming historical epic The Homesman have launched an appeal to find reenactment fans to take part in the shoot.

The new Western, which Jones is also directing, tells the story of an outlaw and a schoolteacher who team up to escort a trio of mentally unbalanced women from Nebraska to Iowa.

Producers have now put out a casting call to find history reenactment enthusiasts with their own costumes to join the period production when filming begins in Georgia later this month (May13).

A casting notice posted online calls for "reenactor men and women (with 1850s period clothing), ages 18 to 65... (and) reenactor children, ages 5-13."

Producers have requested that male history fans wanting to take part should have a beard, while women need to have long hair.

The Homesman also features Hilary Swank and Hailee Steinfeld, as well as Streep's daughter Grace Gummer, and is due for release later this year (13).