diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/ActorCreationTest.java b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/ActorCreationTest.java
index b16523af5b..2b54d51b0d 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/ActorCreationTest.java
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/java/akka/actor/ActorCreationTest.java
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ public class ActorCreationTest {
     }
   }
   
+  static interface I<T> extends Creator<UntypedActor> {}
+  static class F implements I<Object> {
+    @Override
+    public UntypedActor create() {
+      return null;
+    }
+  }
+  
   @Test
   public void testRightCreator() {
     final Props p = Props.create(new C());
@@ -65,4 +73,10 @@ public class ActorCreationTest {
     assertEquals(UntypedActor.class, p.actorClass());
   }
   
+  @Test
+  public void testSuperinterface() {
+    final Props p = Props.create(new F());
+    assertEquals(UntypedActor.class, p.actorClass());
+  }
+  
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorMailboxSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorMailboxSpec.scala
index 9e256f2643..a8a02e5bad 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorMailboxSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorMailboxSpec.scala
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import akka.testkit._
 import akka.dispatch._
 import akka.TestUtils.verifyActorTermination
 import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
+import akka.ConfigurationException
 
 object ActorMailboxSpec {
   val mailboxConf = ConfigFactory.parseString("""
@@ -22,6 +23,13 @@ object ActorMailboxSpec {
       mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.BoundedMailbox"
     }
 
+    requiring-bounded-dispatcher {
+      mailbox-capacity = 1000
+      mailbox-push-timeout-time = 10s
+      mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.BoundedMailbox"
+      mailbox-requirement = "akka.dispatch.BoundedMessageQueueSemantics"
+    }
+
     unbounded-mailbox {
       mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.UnboundedMailbox"
     }
@@ -80,10 +88,32 @@ object ActorMailboxSpec {
         dispatcher = bounded-dispatcher
         mailbox = unbounded-mailbox
       }
-    }
-
-    akka.actor.mailbox.requirements {
-      "akka.dispatch.BoundedMessageQueueSemantics" = bounded-mailbox
+      /bounded-deque-requirements-configured {
+        dispatcher = requiring-bounded-dispatcher
+        mailbox = akka.actor.mailbox.bounded-deque-based
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured {
+        dispatcher = requiring-bounded-dispatcher
+        mailbox = akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-require-unbounded-unconfigured {
+        dispatcher = requiring-bounded-dispatcher
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-requirements-configured-props-disp {
+        mailbox = akka.actor.mailbox.bounded-deque-based
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured-props-disp {
+        mailbox = akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-requirements-configured-props-mail {
+        dispatcher = requiring-bounded-dispatcher
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured-props-mail {
+        dispatcher = requiring-bounded-dispatcher
+      }
+      /bounded-deque-require-unbounded-unconfigured-props-mail {
+        dispatcher = requiring-bounded-dispatcher
+      }
     }
   """)
 
@@ -97,10 +127,16 @@ object ActorMailboxSpec {
 
   class StashQueueReportingActor extends QueueReportingActor with Stash
 
-  val UnboundedMailboxTypes = Seq(classOf[QueueBasedMessageQueue], classOf[UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics])
-  val BoundedMailboxTypes = Seq(classOf[QueueBasedMessageQueue], classOf[BoundedMessageQueueSemantics])
-  val UnboundedDeqMailboxTypes = Seq(classOf[QueueBasedMessageQueue], classOf[DequeBasedMessageQueue],
+  val UnboundedMailboxTypes = Seq(classOf[UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics])
+  val BoundedMailboxTypes = Seq(classOf[BoundedMessageQueueSemantics])
+  val UnboundedDeqMailboxTypes = Seq(
+    classOf[DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics],
+    classOf[UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics],
     classOf[UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics])
+  val BoundedDeqMailboxTypes = Seq(
+    classOf[DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics],
+    classOf[BoundedMessageQueueSemantics],
+    classOf[BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics])
 }
 
 class ActorMailboxSpec extends AkkaSpec(ActorMailboxSpec.mailboxConf) with DefaultTimeout with ImplicitSender {
@@ -122,7 +158,7 @@ class ActorMailboxSpec extends AkkaSpec(ActorMailboxSpec.mailboxConf) with Defau
       checkMailboxQueue(Props[QueueReportingActor], "default-default", UnboundedMailboxTypes)
     }
 
-    "get an unbounded dequeu message queue when it is only configured on the props" in {
+    "get an unbounded deque message queue when it is only configured on the props" in {
       checkMailboxQueue(Props[QueueReportingActor].withMailbox("akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based"),
         "default-override-from-props", UnboundedDeqMailboxTypes)
     }
@@ -132,7 +168,7 @@ class ActorMailboxSpec extends AkkaSpec(ActorMailboxSpec.mailboxConf) with Defau
         "default-override-from-trait", BoundedMailboxTypes)
     }
 
-    "get an unbounded dequeu message queue when it's only mixed with Stash" in {
+    "get an unbounded deque message queue when it's only mixed with Stash" in {
       checkMailboxQueue(Props[StashQueueReportingActor],
         "default-override-from-stash", UnboundedDeqMailboxTypes)
     }
@@ -141,14 +177,12 @@ class ActorMailboxSpec extends AkkaSpec(ActorMailboxSpec.mailboxConf) with Defau
       checkMailboxQueue(Props[QueueReportingActor], "default-bounded", BoundedMailboxTypes)
     }
 
-    "get an unbounded dequeu message queue when it's configured as mailbox" in {
+    "get an unbounded deque message queue when it's configured as mailbox" in {
       checkMailboxQueue(Props[QueueReportingActor], "default-unbounded-deque", UnboundedDeqMailboxTypes)
     }
 
     "fail to create actor when an unbounded dequeu message queue is configured as mailbox overriding RequestMailbox" in {
-      filterEvents(EventFilter[ActorInitializationException]()) {
-        verifyActorTermination(system.actorOf(Props[BoundedQueueReportingActor], "default-unbounded-deque-override-trait"))
-      }
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(Props[BoundedQueueReportingActor], "default-unbounded-deque-override-trait"))
     }
 
     "get an unbounded message queue when defined in dispatcher" in {
@@ -156,9 +190,7 @@ class ActorMailboxSpec extends AkkaSpec(ActorMailboxSpec.mailboxConf) with Defau
     }
 
     "fail to create actor when an unbounded message queue is defined in dispatcher overriding RequestMailbox" in {
-      filterEvents(EventFilter[ActorInitializationException]()) {
-        verifyActorTermination(system.actorOf(Props[BoundedQueueReportingActor], "unbounded-default-override-trait"))
-      }
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(Props[BoundedQueueReportingActor], "unbounded-default-override-trait"))
     }
 
     "get a bounded message queue when it's configured as mailbox overriding unbounded in dispatcher" in {
@@ -183,5 +215,84 @@ class ActorMailboxSpec extends AkkaSpec(ActorMailboxSpec.mailboxConf) with Defau
         "bounded-unbounded-override-props", UnboundedMailboxTypes)
     }
 
+    "get a bounded deque-based message queue if configured and required" in {
+      checkMailboxQueue(Props[StashQueueReportingActor], "bounded-deque-requirements-configured", BoundedDeqMailboxTypes)
+    }
+
+    "fail with a unbounded deque-based message queue if configured and required" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(Props[StashQueueReportingActor], "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured"))
+    }
+
+    "fail with a bounded deque-based message queue if not configured" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(Props[StashQueueReportingActor], "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-unconfigured"))
+    }
+
+    "get a bounded deque-based message queue if configured and required with Props" in {
+      checkMailboxQueue(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withDispatcher("requiring-bounded-dispatcher")
+          .withMailbox("akka.actor.mailbox.bounded-deque-based"),
+        "bounded-deque-requirements-configured-props",
+        BoundedDeqMailboxTypes)
+    }
+
+    "fail with a unbounded deque-based message queue if configured and required with Props" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withDispatcher("requiring-bounded-dispatcher")
+          .withMailbox("akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based"),
+        "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured-props"))
+    }
+
+    "fail with a bounded deque-based message queue if not configured with Props" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withDispatcher("requiring-bounded-dispatcher"),
+        "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-unconfigured-props"))
+    }
+
+    "get a bounded deque-based message queue if configured and required with Props (dispatcher)" in {
+      checkMailboxQueue(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withDispatcher("requiring-bounded-dispatcher"),
+        "bounded-deque-requirements-configured-props-disp",
+        BoundedDeqMailboxTypes)
+    }
+
+    "fail with a unbounded deque-based message queue if configured and required with Props (dispatcher)" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withDispatcher("requiring-bounded-dispatcher"),
+        "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured-props-disp"))
+    }
+
+    "fail with a bounded deque-based message queue if not configured with Props (dispatcher)" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withDispatcher("requiring-bounded-dispatcher"),
+        "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-unconfigured-props-disp"))
+    }
+
+    "get a bounded deque-based message queue if configured and required with Props (mailbox)" in {
+      checkMailboxQueue(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withMailbox("akka.actor.mailbox.bounded-deque-based"),
+        "bounded-deque-requirements-configured-props-mail",
+        BoundedDeqMailboxTypes)
+    }
+
+    "fail with a unbounded deque-based message queue if configured and required with Props (mailbox)" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor]
+          .withMailbox("akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based"),
+        "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-configured-props-mail"))
+    }
+
+    "fail with a bounded deque-based message queue if not configured with Props (mailbox)" in {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException](system.actorOf(
+        Props[StashQueueReportingActor],
+        "bounded-deque-require-unbounded-unconfigured-props-mail"))
+    }
+
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala
index f83e599063..f47dc9d6bc 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala
@@ -84,12 +84,10 @@ object ActorSystemSpec {
 
   class SlowDispatcher(_config: Config, _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites) extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(_config, _prerequisites) {
     private val instance = new Dispatcher(
-      prerequisites,
+      this,
       config.getString("id"),
       config.getInt("throughput"),
       Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
-      mailboxType,
-      mailBoxTypeConfigured,
       configureExecutor(),
       Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)) {
       val doneIt = new Switch
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/IOActor.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/IOActor.scala
index 23f1e013e4..e619198be2 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/IOActor.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/IOActor.scala
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ class IOActorSpec extends AkkaSpec with DefaultTimeout {
         case Failure(e) if check(n, e) ⇒
           if (delay.isDefined) {
             executor match {
-              case m: MessageDispatcher ⇒ m.prerequisites.scheduler.scheduleOnce(delay.get)(run(n + 1))
+              case m: MessageDispatcher ⇒ m.configurator.prerequisites.scheduler.scheduleOnce(delay.get)(run(n + 1))
               case _                    ⇒ // Thread.sleep, ignore, or other?
             }
           } else run(n + 1)
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/SupervisorHierarchySpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/SupervisorHierarchySpec.scala
index 3200a0bbd7..93d7891711 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/SupervisorHierarchySpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/SupervisorHierarchySpec.scala
@@ -78,12 +78,10 @@ object SupervisorHierarchySpec {
     extends DispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
 
     private val instance: MessageDispatcher =
-      new Dispatcher(prerequisites,
+      new Dispatcher(this,
         config.getString("id"),
         config.getInt("throughput"),
         Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
-        mailboxType,
-        mailBoxTypeConfigured,
         configureExecutor(),
         Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)) {
 
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/dispatch/ActorModelSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/dispatch/ActorModelSpec.scala
index 4bdceed888..14f03799dc 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/dispatch/ActorModelSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/dispatch/ActorModelSpec.scala
@@ -529,12 +529,10 @@ object DispatcherModelSpec {
     extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
 
     private val instance: MessageDispatcher =
-      new Dispatcher(prerequisites,
+      new Dispatcher(this,
         config.getString("id"),
         config.getInt("throughput"),
         Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
-        mailboxType,
-        mailBoxTypeConfigured,
         configureExecutor(),
         Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)) with MessageDispatcherInterceptor
 
@@ -600,20 +598,17 @@ object BalancingDispatcherModelSpec {
   }
 
   class BalancingMessageDispatcherInterceptorConfigurator(config: Config, prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites)
-    extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
+    extends BalancingDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
 
-    private val instance: MessageDispatcher =
-      new BalancingDispatcher(prerequisites,
+    override protected def create(mailboxType: MailboxType): BalancingDispatcher =
+      new BalancingDispatcher(this,
         config.getString("id"),
         config.getInt("throughput"),
         Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
         mailboxType,
-        mailBoxTypeConfigured,
         configureExecutor(),
         Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS),
         config.getBoolean("attempt-teamwork")) with MessageDispatcherInterceptor
-
-    override def dispatcher(): MessageDispatcher = instance
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/config/ConfigSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/config/ConfigSpec.scala
index c3c38594ac..d1f04ba303 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/config/ConfigSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/config/ConfigSpec.scala
@@ -63,9 +63,6 @@ class ConfigSpec extends AkkaSpec(ConfigFactory.defaultReference(ActorSystem.fin
         {
           c.getString("type") must equal("Dispatcher")
           c.getString("executor") must equal("fork-join-executor")
-          c.getInt("mailbox-capacity") must equal(-1)
-          c.getMilliseconds("mailbox-push-timeout-time") must equal(10 * 1000)
-          c.getString("mailbox-type") must be("")
           c.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout") must equal(1 * 1000)
           c.getInt("throughput") must equal(5)
           c.getMilliseconds("throughput-deadline-time") must equal(0)
@@ -134,6 +131,18 @@ class ConfigSpec extends AkkaSpec(ConfigFactory.defaultReference(ActorSystem.fin
           io.getInt("default-backlog") must be(ioExtSettings.defaultBacklog)
         }
       }
+
+      {
+        val c = config.getConfig("akka.actor.default-mailbox")
+
+        // general mailbox config
+
+        {
+          c.getInt("mailbox-capacity") must equal(1000)
+          c.getMilliseconds("mailbox-push-timeout-time") must equal(10 * 1000)
+          c.getString("mailbox-type") must be("akka.dispatch.UnboundedMailbox")
+        }
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/MailboxConfigSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/MailboxConfigSpec.scala
index 136f9dd8b5..ce90666293 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/MailboxConfigSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/dispatch/MailboxConfigSpec.scala
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ object CustomMailboxSpec {
     }
   }
 
-  class MyMailbox(owner: ActorRef) extends QueueBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
+  class MyMailbox(owner: ActorRef) extends UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
     final val queue = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue[Envelope]()
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcherModelSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcherModelSpec.scala
index ff04077ed0..641440ad36 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcherModelSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcherModelSpec.scala
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ object CallingThreadDispatcherModelSpec {
     extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
 
     private val instance: MessageDispatcher =
-      new CallingThreadDispatcher(prerequisites, UnboundedMailbox(), false) with MessageDispatcherInterceptor {
+      new CallingThreadDispatcher(this) with MessageDispatcherInterceptor {
         override def id: String = config.getString("id")
       }
 
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 6782b7999a..b2545eabc3 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -281,29 +281,34 @@ akka {
       # Throughput deadline for Dispatcher, set to 0 or negative for no deadline
       throughput-deadline-time = 0ms
 
-      # If negative (or zero) then an unbounded mailbox is used (default)
-      # If positive then a bounded mailbox is used and the capacity is set using
-      # the property
-      # NOTE: setting a mailbox to 'blocking' can be a bit dangerous, could lead
-      # to deadlock, use with care
-      # The following mailbox-push-timeout-time is only used for type=Dispatcher
-      # and only if mailbox-capacity > 0
-      mailbox-capacity = -1
-
-      # Specifies the timeout to add a new message to a mailbox that is full -
-      # negative number means infinite timeout. It is only used for type=Dispatcher
-      # and only if mailbox-capacity > 0
-      mailbox-push-timeout-time = 10s
-
-      # FQCN of the MailboxType, if not specified the default bounded or unbounded
-      # mailbox is used. The Class of the FQCN must have a public constructor with
-      # (akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings, com.typesafe.config.Config) parameters.
-      mailbox-type = ""
-
       # For BalancingDispatcher: If the balancing dispatcher should attempt to
       # schedule idle actors using the same dispatcher when a message comes in,
       # and the dispatchers ExecutorService is not fully busy already.
       attempt-teamwork = on
+      
+      # If this dispatcher requires a specific type of mailbox, specify the 
+      # fully-qualified class name here; the actually created mailbox will 
+      # be a subtype of this type. The empty string signifies no requirement.
+      mailbox-requirement = ""
+    }
+    
+    default-mailbox {
+      # FQCN of the MailboxType. The Class of the FQCN must have a public 
+      # constructor with 
+      # (akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings, com.typesafe.config.Config) parameters.
+      mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.UnboundedMailbox"
+
+      # If the mailbox is bounded then it uses this setting to determine its
+      # capacity. The provided value must be positive.
+      # NOTICE:
+      # Up to version 2.1 the mailbox type was determined based on this setting;
+      # this is no longer the case, the type must explicitly be a bounded mailbox.
+      mailbox-capacity = 1000
+
+      # If the mailbox is bounded then this is the timeout for enqueueing 
+      # in case the mailbox is full. Negative values signify infinite
+      # timeout, which should be avoided as it bears the risk of dead-lock.
+      mailbox-push-timeout-time = 10s
 
       # For Actor with Stash: The default capacity of the stash.
       # If negative (or zero) then an unbounded stash is used (default)
@@ -322,10 +327,16 @@ akka {
       requirements {
         "akka.dispatch.UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics" =
           akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-queue-based
-        "akka.dispatch.DequeBasedMessageQueue" =
+        "akka.dispatch.BoundedMessageQueueSemantics" =
+          akka.actor.mailbox.bounded-queue-based
+        "akka.dispatch.DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics" =
           akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based
         "akka.dispatch.UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics" =
           akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-deque-based
+        "akka.dispatch.BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics" =
+          akka.actor.mailbox.bounded-deque-based
+        "akka.dispatch.MultipleConsumerSemantics" =
+          akka.actor.mailbox.unbounded-queue-based
       }
 
       unbounded-queue-based {
@@ -335,12 +346,26 @@ akka {
         mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.UnboundedMailbox"
       }
 
+      bounded-queue-based {
+        # FQCN of the MailboxType, The Class of the FQCN must have a public
+        # constructor with (akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings,
+        # com.typesafe.config.Config) parameters.
+        mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.BoundedMailbox"
+      }
+
       unbounded-deque-based {
         # FQCN of the MailboxType, The Class of the FQCN must have a public
         # constructor with (akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings,
         # com.typesafe.config.Config) parameters.
         mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox"
       }
+      
+      bounded-deque-based {
+        # FQCN of the MailboxType, The Class of the FQCN must have a public
+        # constructor with (akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings,
+        # com.typesafe.config.Config) parameters.
+        mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.BoundedDequeBasedMailbox"
+      }
     }
 
     debug {
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
index b36a7389ec..b26d8df60b 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext
 import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
 import scala.concurrent.forkjoin.ThreadLocalRandom
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
+import akka.dispatch.MessageDispatcher
 
 /**
  * The actor context - the view of the actor cell from the actor.
@@ -338,6 +339,7 @@ private[akka] class ActorCell(
   val system: ActorSystemImpl,
   val self: InternalActorRef,
   val props: Props,
+  val dispatcher: MessageDispatcher,
   val parent: InternalActorRef)
   extends UntypedActorContext with Cell
   with dungeon.ReceiveTimeout
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
index bd2ee513fd..b06c7a0b5d 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
@@ -271,6 +271,8 @@ private[akka] case object Nobody extends MinimalActorRef {
 private[akka] class LocalActorRef private[akka] (
   _system: ActorSystemImpl,
   _props: Props,
+  _dispatcher: MessageDispatcher,
+  _mailboxType: MailboxType,
   _supervisor: InternalActorRef,
   override val path: ActorPath)
   extends ActorRefWithCell with LocalRef {
@@ -285,11 +287,11 @@ private[akka] class LocalActorRef private[akka] (
    * actorCell before we call init and start, since we can start using "this"
    * object from another thread as soon as we run init.
    */
-  private val actorCell: ActorCell = newActorCell(_system, this, _props, _supervisor)
-  actorCell.init(sendSupervise = true)
+  private val actorCell: ActorCell = newActorCell(_system, this, _props, _dispatcher, _supervisor)
+  actorCell.init(sendSupervise = true, _mailboxType)
 
-  protected def newActorCell(system: ActorSystemImpl, ref: InternalActorRef, props: Props, supervisor: InternalActorRef): ActorCell =
-    new ActorCell(system, ref, props, supervisor)
+  protected def newActorCell(system: ActorSystemImpl, ref: InternalActorRef, props: Props, dispatcher: MessageDispatcher, supervisor: InternalActorRef): ActorCell =
+    new ActorCell(system, ref, props, dispatcher, supervisor)
 
   protected def actorContext: ActorContext = actorCell
 
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
index 62a1735893..ceacb110f8 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@ import akka.util.{ Switch, Helpers }
 import akka.japi.Util.immutableSeq
 import akka.util.Collections.EmptyImmutableSeq
 import scala.util.{ Success, Failure }
+import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong
 import scala.concurrent.{ ExecutionContext, Future, Promise }
 import scala.annotation.implicitNotFound
 import akka.ConfigurationException
+import akka.dispatch.Mailboxes
 
 /**
  * Interface for all ActorRef providers to implement.
@@ -559,10 +561,16 @@ private[akka] class LocalActorRefProvider private[akka] (
    */
   protected def systemGuardianStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = SupervisorStrategy.defaultStrategy
 
+  private lazy val defaultDispatcher = system.dispatchers.defaultGlobalDispatcher
+
+  private lazy val defaultMailbox = system.mailboxes.lookup(Mailboxes.DefaultMailboxId)
+
   override lazy val rootGuardian: LocalActorRef =
     new LocalActorRef(
       system,
       Props(classOf[LocalActorRefProvider.Guardian], rootGuardianStrategy),
+      defaultDispatcher,
+      defaultMailbox,
       theOneWhoWalksTheBubblesOfSpaceTime,
       rootPath) {
       override def getParent: InternalActorRef = this
@@ -581,7 +589,7 @@ private[akka] class LocalActorRefProvider private[akka] (
     val cell = rootGuardian.underlying
     cell.reserveChild("user")
     val ref = new LocalActorRef(system, Props(classOf[LocalActorRefProvider.Guardian], guardianStrategy),
-      rootGuardian, rootPath / "user")
+      defaultDispatcher, defaultMailbox, rootGuardian, rootPath / "user")
     cell.initChild(ref)
     ref.start()
     ref
@@ -592,7 +600,7 @@ private[akka] class LocalActorRefProvider private[akka] (
     cell.reserveChild("system")
     val ref = new LocalActorRef(
       system, Props(classOf[LocalActorRefProvider.SystemGuardian], systemGuardianStrategy, guardian),
-      rootGuardian, rootPath / "system")
+      defaultDispatcher, defaultMailbox, rootGuardian, rootPath / "system")
     cell.initChild(ref)
     ref.start()
     ref
@@ -712,19 +720,48 @@ private[akka] class LocalActorRefProvider private[akka] (
         if (!system.dispatchers.hasDispatcher(props2.dispatcher))
           throw new ConfigurationException(s"Dispatcher [${props2.dispatcher}] not configured for path $path")
 
-        if (async) new RepointableActorRef(system, props2, supervisor, path).initialize(async)
-        else new LocalActorRef(system, props2, supervisor, path)
+        try {
+          val dispatcher = system.dispatchers.lookup(props2.dispatcher)
+          val mailboxType = system.mailboxes.getMailboxType(props2, dispatcher.configurator.config)
+
+          if (async) new RepointableActorRef(system, props2, dispatcher, mailboxType, supervisor, path).initialize(async)
+          else new LocalActorRef(system, props2, dispatcher, mailboxType, supervisor, path)
+        } catch {
+          case NonFatal(e) ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException(
+            s"configuration problem while creating [$path] with dispatcher [${props2.dispatcher}] and mailbox [${props2.mailbox}]", e)
+        }
 
       case router ⇒
         val lookup = if (lookupDeploy) deployer.lookup(path) else None
         val fromProps = Iterator(props.deploy.copy(routerConfig = props.deploy.routerConfig withFallback router))
         val d = fromProps ++ deploy.iterator ++ lookup.iterator reduce ((a, b) ⇒ b withFallback a)
         val p = props.withRouter(d.routerConfig)
+
         if (!system.dispatchers.hasDispatcher(p.dispatcher))
           throw new ConfigurationException(s"Dispatcher [${p.dispatcher}] not configured for routees of $path")
         if (!system.dispatchers.hasDispatcher(d.routerConfig.routerDispatcher))
           throw new ConfigurationException(s"Dispatcher [${p.dispatcher}] not configured for router of $path")
-        new RoutedActorRef(system, p, supervisor, path).initialize(async)
+
+        val routerProps =
+          Props(p.deploy.copy(dispatcher = p.routerConfig.routerDispatcher),
+            classOf[RoutedActorCell.RouterCreator], Vector(p.routerConfig))
+        val routeeProps = p.withRouter(NoRouter)
+
+        try {
+          val routerDispatcher = system.dispatchers.lookup(p.routerConfig.routerDispatcher)
+          val routerMailbox = system.mailboxes.getMailboxType(routerProps, routerDispatcher.configurator.config)
+
+          // the RouteeProvider uses context.actorOf() to create the routees, which does not allow us to pass
+          // these through, but obtain them here for early verification
+          val routeeDispatcher = system.dispatchers.lookup(p.dispatcher)
+          val routeeMailbox = system.mailboxes.getMailboxType(routeeProps, routeeDispatcher.configurator.config)
+
+          new RoutedActorRef(system, routerProps, routerDispatcher, routerMailbox, routeeProps, supervisor, path).initialize(async)
+        } catch {
+          case NonFatal(e) ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException(
+            s"configuration problem while creating [$path] with router dispatcher [${routerProps.dispatcher}] and mailbox [${routerProps.mailbox}] " +
+              s"and routee dispatcher [${routeeProps.dispatcher}] and mailbox [${routeeProps.mailbox}]", e)
+        }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
index b6e4bbbbd8..cb926d0d1c 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
@@ -544,28 +544,13 @@ private[akka] class ActorSystemImpl(val name: String, applicationConfig: Config,
 
   def deadLetters: ActorRef = provider.deadLetters
 
-  val deadLetterMailbox: Mailbox = new Mailbox(new MessageQueue {
-    def enqueue(receiver: ActorRef, envelope: Envelope): Unit =
-      deadLetters.tell(DeadLetter(envelope.message, envelope.sender, receiver), envelope.sender)
-    def dequeue() = null
-    def hasMessages = false
-    def numberOfMessages = 0
-    def cleanUp(owner: ActorRef, deadLetters: MessageQueue): Unit = ()
-  }) {
-    becomeClosed()
-    def systemEnqueue(receiver: ActorRef, handle: SystemMessage): Unit =
-      deadLetters ! DeadLetter(handle, receiver, receiver)
-    def systemDrain(newContents: LatestFirstSystemMessageList): EarliestFirstSystemMessageList = SystemMessageList.ENil
-    def hasSystemMessages = false
-  }
+  val mailboxes: Mailboxes = new Mailboxes(settings, eventStream, dynamicAccess, deadLetters)
 
   val dispatchers: Dispatchers = new Dispatchers(settings, DefaultDispatcherPrerequisites(
-    threadFactory, eventStream, deadLetterMailbox, scheduler, dynamicAccess, settings))
+    threadFactory, eventStream, scheduler, dynamicAccess, settings, mailboxes))
 
   val dispatcher: ExecutionContext = dispatchers.defaultGlobalDispatcher
 
-  val mailboxes: Mailboxes = new Mailboxes(settings, eventStream, dynamicAccess)
-
   val internalCallingThreadExecutionContext: ExecutionContext =
     dynamicAccess.getObjectFor[ExecutionContext]("scala.concurrent.Future$InternalCallbackExecutor$").getOrElse(
       new ExecutionContext with BatchingExecutor {
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala
index 46b74bcd26..47af4d32d9 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala
@@ -91,11 +91,11 @@ object Props {
   @deprecated("use Props.withDispatcher and friends", "2.2")
   def apply(
     creator: () ⇒ Actor = Props.defaultCreator,
-    dispatcher: String = Dispatchers.DefaultDispatcherId,
+    dispatcher: String = Deploy.NoDispatcherGiven,
     routerConfig: RouterConfig = Props.defaultRoutedProps,
     deploy: Deploy = Props.defaultDeploy): Props = {
 
-    val d1 = if (dispatcher != Dispatchers.DefaultDispatcherId) deploy.copy(dispatcher = dispatcher) else deploy
+    val d1 = if (dispatcher != Deploy.NoDispatcherGiven) deploy.copy(dispatcher = dispatcher) else deploy
     val d2 = if (routerConfig != Props.defaultRoutedProps) d1.copy(routerConfig = routerConfig) else d1
     val p = Props(classOf[CreatorFunctionConsumer], creator)
     if (d2 != Props.defaultDeploy) p.withDeploy(d2) else p
@@ -125,22 +125,17 @@ object Props {
   def create[T <: Actor](creator: Creator[T]): Props = {
     if ((creator.getClass.getModifiers & Modifier.STATIC) == 0)
       throw new IllegalArgumentException("cannot use non-static local Creator to create actors; make it static or top-level")
-    val cc = classOf[Creator[_]]
     val ac = classOf[Actor]
-    @tailrec def findType(c: Class[_]): Class[_] = {
-      c.getGenericInterfaces collectFirst {
-        case t: ParameterizedType if cc.isAssignableFrom(t.getRawType.asInstanceOf[Class[_]]) ⇒
-          t.getActualTypeArguments.head match {
-            case c: Class[_] ⇒ c // since T <: Actor
-            case v: TypeVariable[_] ⇒
-              v.getBounds collectFirst { case c: Class[_] if ac.isAssignableFrom(c) && c != ac ⇒ c } getOrElse ac
-          }
-      } match {
-        case Some(x) ⇒ x
-        case None    ⇒ findType(c.getSuperclass)
-      }
+    val actorClass = Reflect.findMarker(creator.getClass, classOf[Creator[_]]) match {
+      case t: ParameterizedType ⇒
+        t.getActualTypeArguments.head match {
+          case c: Class[_] ⇒ c // since T <: Actor
+          case v: TypeVariable[_] ⇒
+            v.getBounds collectFirst { case c: Class[_] if ac.isAssignableFrom(c) && c != ac ⇒ c } getOrElse ac
+          case x ⇒ throw new IllegalArgumentException(s"unsupported type found in Creator argument [$x]")
+        }
     }
-    apply(defaultDeploy, classOf[CreatorConsumer], findType(creator.getClass) :: creator :: Nil)
+    apply(defaultDeploy, classOf[CreatorConsumer], actorClass :: creator :: Nil)
   }
 }
 
@@ -245,9 +240,9 @@ final case class Props(deploy: Deploy, clazz: Class[_], args: immutable.Seq[Any]
    * Convenience method for extracting the mailbox information from the
    * contained [[Deploy]] instance.
    */
-  def mailbox: Option[String] = deploy.mailbox match {
-    case NoMailboxGiven ⇒ None
-    case x              ⇒ Some(x)
+  def mailbox: String = deploy.mailbox match {
+    case NoMailboxGiven ⇒ Mailboxes.DefaultMailboxId
+    case x              ⇒ x
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala
index 617658bfbb..ea5b54eedc 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ import util.Try
 private[akka] class RepointableActorRef(
   val system: ActorSystemImpl,
   val props: Props,
+  val dispatcher: MessageDispatcher,
+  val mailboxType: MailboxType,
   val supervisor: InternalActorRef,
   val path: ActorPath)
   extends ActorRefWithCell with RepointableRef {
@@ -111,7 +113,7 @@ private[akka] class RepointableActorRef(
    * unstarted cell. The cell must be fully functional.
    */
   def newCell(old: UnstartedCell): Cell =
-    new ActorCell(system, this, props, supervisor).init(sendSupervise = false)
+    new ActorCell(system, this, props, dispatcher, supervisor).init(sendSupervise = false, mailboxType)
 
   def start(): Unit = ()
 
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Stash.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Stash.scala
index beb20573de..ca5bf11a5e 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Stash.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Stash.scala
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  */
 package akka.actor
 
-import akka.dispatch.{ UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics, RequiresMessageQueue, Envelope, DequeBasedMessageQueue }
+import akka.dispatch.{ UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics, RequiresMessageQueue, Envelope, DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics }
 import akka.AkkaException
 
 /**
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ import akka.AkkaException
  *  any trait/class that overrides the `preRestart` callback. This means it's not possible to write
  *  `Actor with MyActor with Stash` if `MyActor` overrides `preRestart`.
  */
-trait Stash extends UnrestrictedStash with RequiresMessageQueue[DequeBasedMessageQueue]
+trait Stash extends UnrestrictedStash with RequiresMessageQueue[DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics]
 
 /**
  * The `UnboundedStash` trait is a version of `Stash` that enforces an unbounded stash for you actor.
@@ -64,16 +64,16 @@ trait UnrestrictedStash extends Actor {
    */
   private val capacity: Int = {
     val dispatcher = context.system.settings.config.getConfig(context.props.dispatcher)
-    val config = dispatcher.withFallback(context.system.settings.config.getConfig("akka.actor.default-dispatcher"))
+    val config = dispatcher.withFallback(context.system.settings.config.getConfig("akka.actor.default-mailbox"))
     config.getInt("stash-capacity")
   }
 
   /* The actor's deque-based message queue.
    * `mailbox.queue` is the underlying `Deque`.
    */
-  private val mailbox: DequeBasedMessageQueue = {
+  private val mailbox: DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics = {
     context.asInstanceOf[ActorCell].mailbox.messageQueue match {
-      case queue: DequeBasedMessageQueue ⇒ queue
+      case queue: DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics ⇒ queue
       case other ⇒ throw ActorInitializationException(self, s"DequeBasedMailbox required, got: ${other.getClass.getName}\n" +
         """An (unbounded) deque-based mailbox can be configured as follows:
           |  my-custom-mailbox {
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/Dispatch.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/Dispatch.scala
index 6ae063d9f6..6c0b9971e1 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/Dispatch.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dungeon/Dispatch.scala
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ import akka.actor._
 import akka.serialization.SerializationExtension
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 import scala.util.control.Exception.Catcher
+import akka.dispatch.MailboxType
+import akka.dispatch.ProducesMessageQueue
 
 private[akka] trait Dispatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
 
@@ -30,8 +32,6 @@ private[akka] trait Dispatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
 
   final def numberOfMessages: Int = mailbox.numberOfMessages
 
-  val dispatcher: MessageDispatcher = system.dispatchers.lookup(props.dispatcher)
-
   final def isTerminated: Boolean = mailbox.isClosed
 
   /**
@@ -39,24 +39,29 @@ private[akka] trait Dispatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
    * reasonably different from the previous UID of a possible actor with the same path,
    * which can be achieved by using ThreadLocalRandom.current.nextInt().
    */
-  final def init(sendSupervise: Boolean): this.type = {
+  final def init(sendSupervise: Boolean, mailboxType: MailboxType): this.type = {
     /*
      * Create the mailbox and enqueue the Create() message to ensure that
      * this is processed before anything else.
      */
-    val mbox = dispatcher.createMailbox(this)
+    val mbox = dispatcher.createMailbox(this, mailboxType)
 
+    /*
+     * The mailboxType was calculated taking into account what the MailboxType
+     * has promised to produce. If that was more than the default, then we need
+     * to reverify here because the dispatcher may well have screwed it up.
+     */
     // we need to delay the failure to the point of actor creation so we can handle
     // it properly in the normal way
     val actorClass = props.actorClass
-    val createMessage = if (system.mailboxes.hasRequiredType(actorClass)) {
-      Create(system.mailboxes.getRequiredType(actorClass).flatMap {
-        case c if !c.isAssignableFrom(mbox.messageQueue.getClass) ⇒
-          Some(ActorInitializationException(self, s"Actor [${self}] requires mailbox type [${c}]" +
-            s" got [${mbox.messageQueue.getClass}]"))
-        case _ ⇒ None
-      })
-    } else Create(None)
+    val createMessage = mailboxType match {
+      case _: ProducesMessageQueue[_] if system.mailboxes.hasRequiredType(actorClass) ⇒
+        val req = system.mailboxes.getRequiredType(actorClass)
+        if (req isInstance mbox.messageQueue) Create(None)
+        else Create(Some(ActorInitializationException(self,
+          s"Actor [$self] requires mailbox type [$req] got [${mbox.messageQueue.getClass.getName}]")))
+      case _ ⇒ Create(None)
+    }
 
     swapMailbox(mbox)
     mailbox.setActor(this)
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/AbstractDispatcher.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/AbstractDispatcher.scala
index cfefb7153f..11d4fc075b 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/AbstractDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/AbstractDispatcher.scala
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
 import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext
 import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
+import scala.util.Try
+import scala.util.Failure
+import akka.util.Reflect
+import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType
 
 final case class Envelope private (val message: Any, val sender: ActorRef)
 
@@ -79,11 +83,14 @@ private[akka] object MessageDispatcher {
     }
 }
 
-abstract class MessageDispatcher(val prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites) extends AbstractMessageDispatcher with BatchingExecutor with ExecutionContext {
+abstract class MessageDispatcher(val configurator: MessageDispatcherConfigurator) extends AbstractMessageDispatcher with BatchingExecutor with ExecutionContext {
 
   import MessageDispatcher._
   import AbstractMessageDispatcher.{ inhabitantsOffset, shutdownScheduleOffset }
-  import prerequisites._
+  import configurator.prerequisites
+
+  val mailboxes = prerequisites.mailboxes
+  val eventStream = prerequisites.eventStream
 
   @volatile private[this] var _inhabitantsDoNotCallMeDirectly: Long = _ // DO NOT TOUCH!
   @volatile private[this] var _shutdownScheduleDoNotCallMeDirectly: Int = _ // DO NOT TOUCH!
@@ -109,18 +116,7 @@ abstract class MessageDispatcher(val prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites) ext
   /**
    *  Creates and returns a mailbox for the given actor.
    */
-  protected[akka] def createMailbox(actor: Cell): Mailbox
-
-  /**
-   * Finds out the mailbox type for an actor based on configuration, props and requirements.
-   */
-  protected[akka] def getMailboxType(actor: Cell, mailboxType: MailboxType, mailboxTypeConfigured: Boolean): MailboxType =
-    actor.props.mailbox.flatMap(id ⇒ actor.system.mailboxes.lookup(id)) match {
-      case Some(x)                       ⇒ x
-      case None if mailboxTypeConfigured ⇒ mailboxType
-      case None ⇒ actor.system.mailboxes.getRequiredType(actor.props.actorClass).
-        flatMap(c ⇒ actor.system.mailboxes.lookupByQueueType(c)).getOrElse(mailboxType)
-    }
+  protected[akka] def createMailbox(actor: Cell, mailboxType: MailboxType): Mailbox
 
   /**
    * Identifier of this dispatcher, corresponds to the full key
@@ -156,8 +152,8 @@ abstract class MessageDispatcher(val prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites) ext
   }
 
   override def reportFailure(t: Throwable): Unit = t match {
-    case e: LogEventException ⇒ prerequisites.eventStream.publish(e.event)
-    case _                    ⇒ prerequisites.eventStream.publish(Error(t, getClass.getName, getClass, t.getMessage))
+    case e: LogEventException ⇒ eventStream.publish(e.event)
+    case _                    ⇒ eventStream.publish(Error(t, getClass.getName, getClass, t.getMessage))
   }
 
   @tailrec
@@ -175,7 +171,7 @@ abstract class MessageDispatcher(val prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites) ext
 
   private def scheduleShutdownAction(): Unit = {
     // IllegalStateException is thrown if scheduler has been shutdown
-    try scheduler.scheduleOnce(shutdownTimeout, shutdownAction)(new ExecutionContext {
+    try prerequisites.scheduler.scheduleOnce(shutdownTimeout, shutdownAction)(new ExecutionContext {
       override def execute(runnable: Runnable): Unit = runnable.run()
       override def reportFailure(t: Throwable): Unit = MessageDispatcher.this.reportFailure(t)
     }) catch {
@@ -203,7 +199,7 @@ abstract class MessageDispatcher(val prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites) ext
   protected[akka] def unregister(actor: ActorCell) {
     if (debug) actors.remove(this, actor.self)
     addInhabitants(-1)
-    val mailBox = actor.swapMailbox(deadLetterMailbox)
+    val mailBox = actor.swapMailbox(mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox)
     mailBox.becomeClosed()
     mailBox.cleanUp()
   }
@@ -321,37 +317,6 @@ abstract class MessageDispatcherConfigurator(val config: Config, val prerequisit
    */
   def dispatcher(): MessageDispatcher
 
-  /**
-   * Returns a factory for the [[akka.dispatch.Mailbox]] given the configuration.
-   * Default implementation instantiate the [[akka.dispatch.MailboxType]] specified
-   * as FQCN in mailbox-type config property. If mailbox-type is unspecified (empty)
-   * then [[akka.dispatch.UnboundedMailbox]] is used when capacity is < 1,
-   * otherwise [[akka.dispatch.BoundedMailbox]].
-   */
-  def mailboxType(): MailboxType = {
-    config.getString("mailbox-type") match {
-      case "" ⇒
-        if (config.getInt("mailbox-capacity") < 1) UnboundedMailbox()
-        else new BoundedMailbox(prerequisites.settings, config)
-      case "unbounded" ⇒ UnboundedMailbox()
-      case "bounded"   ⇒ new BoundedMailbox(prerequisites.settings, config)
-      case fqcn ⇒
-        val args = List(classOf[ActorSystem.Settings] -> prerequisites.settings, classOf[Config] -> config)
-        prerequisites.dynamicAccess.createInstanceFor[MailboxType](fqcn, args).recover({
-          case exception ⇒
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
-              ("Cannot instantiate MailboxType [%s], defined in [%s], " +
-                "make sure it has constructor with [akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings, com.typesafe.config.Config] parameters")
-                .format(fqcn, config.getString("id")), exception)
-        }).get
-    }
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Was the mailbox type configured or derived?
-   */
-  def mailBoxTypeConfigured: Boolean = config.getString("mailbox-type") != Deploy.NoMailboxGiven
-
   def configureExecutor(): ExecutorServiceConfigurator = {
     config.getString("executor") match {
       case null | "" | "fork-join-executor" ⇒ new ForkJoinExecutorConfigurator(config.getConfig("fork-join-executor"), prerequisites)
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/BalancingDispatcher.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/BalancingDispatcher.scala
index 26795f5aba..b51b27c0b0 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/BalancingDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/BalancingDispatcher.scala
@@ -29,16 +29,15 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration
  * @see akka.dispatch.Dispatchers
  */
 class BalancingDispatcher(
-  _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites,
+  _configurator: MessageDispatcherConfigurator,
   _id: String,
   throughput: Int,
   throughputDeadlineTime: Duration,
-  mailboxType: MailboxType,
-  _mailBoxTypeConfigured: Boolean,
+  _mailboxType: MailboxType,
   _executorServiceFactoryProvider: ExecutorServiceFactoryProvider,
   _shutdownTimeout: FiniteDuration,
   attemptTeamWork: Boolean)
-  extends Dispatcher(_prerequisites, _id, throughput, throughputDeadlineTime, mailboxType, _mailBoxTypeConfigured, _executorServiceFactoryProvider, _shutdownTimeout) {
+  extends Dispatcher(_configurator, _id, throughput, throughputDeadlineTime, _executorServiceFactoryProvider, _shutdownTimeout) {
 
   /**
    * INTERNAL API
@@ -51,12 +50,12 @@ class BalancingDispatcher(
   /**
    * INTERNAL API
    */
-  private[akka] val messageQueue: MessageQueue = mailboxType.create(None, None)
+  private[akka] val messageQueue: MessageQueue = _mailboxType.create(None, None)
 
   private class SharingMailbox(val system: ActorSystemImpl, _messageQueue: MessageQueue)
     extends Mailbox(_messageQueue) with DefaultSystemMessageQueue {
     override def cleanUp(): Unit = {
-      val dlq = system.deadLetterMailbox
+      val dlq = mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox
       //Don't call the original implementation of this since it scraps all messages, and we don't want to do that
       var messages = systemDrain(new LatestFirstSystemMessageList(NoMessage))
       while (messages.nonEmpty) {
@@ -69,7 +68,8 @@ class BalancingDispatcher(
     }
   }
 
-  protected[akka] override def createMailbox(actor: akka.actor.Cell): Mailbox = new SharingMailbox(actor.systemImpl, messageQueue)
+  protected[akka] override def createMailbox(actor: akka.actor.Cell, mailboxType: MailboxType): Mailbox =
+    new SharingMailbox(actor.systemImpl, messageQueue)
 
   protected[akka] override def register(actor: ActorCell): Unit = {
     super.register(actor)
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatcher.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatcher.scala
index eb97628dfc..f60580943a 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatcher.scala
@@ -30,15 +30,15 @@ import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType
  *                   Larger values (or zero or negative) increase throughput, smaller values increase fairness
  */
 class Dispatcher(
-  _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites,
+  _configurator: MessageDispatcherConfigurator,
   val id: String,
   val throughput: Int,
   val throughputDeadlineTime: Duration,
-  val mailboxType: MailboxType,
-  val mailboxTypeConfigured: Boolean,
   executorServiceFactoryProvider: ExecutorServiceFactoryProvider,
   val shutdownTimeout: FiniteDuration)
-  extends MessageDispatcher(_prerequisites) {
+  extends MessageDispatcher(_configurator) {
+
+  import configurator.prerequisites._
 
   private class LazyExecutorServiceDelegate(factory: ExecutorServiceFactory) extends ExecutorServiceDelegate {
     lazy val executor: ExecutorService = factory.createExecutorService
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class Dispatcher(
   }
 
   @volatile private var executorServiceDelegate: LazyExecutorServiceDelegate =
-    new LazyExecutorServiceDelegate(executorServiceFactoryProvider.createExecutorServiceFactory(id, prerequisites.threadFactory))
+    new LazyExecutorServiceDelegate(executorServiceFactoryProvider.createExecutorServiceFactory(id, threadFactory))
 
   protected final def executorService: ExecutorServiceDelegate = executorServiceDelegate
 
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class Dispatcher(
           executorService execute invocation
         } catch {
           case e2: RejectedExecutionException ⇒
-            prerequisites.eventStream.publish(Error(e, getClass.getName, getClass, "executeTask was rejected twice!"))
+            eventStream.publish(Error(e, getClass.getName, getClass, "executeTask was rejected twice!"))
             throw e2
         }
     }
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ class Dispatcher(
   /**
    * INTERNAL API
    */
-  protected[akka] def createMailbox(actor: akka.actor.Cell): Mailbox = {
-    new Mailbox(getMailboxType(actor, mailboxType, mailboxTypeConfigured).create(Some(actor.self), Some(actor.system))) with DefaultSystemMessageQueue
+  protected[akka] def createMailbox(actor: akka.actor.Cell, mailboxType: MailboxType): Mailbox = {
+    new Mailbox(mailboxType.create(Some(actor.self), Some(actor.system))) with DefaultSystemMessageQueue
   }
 
   /**
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ class Dispatcher(
             } catch { //Retry once
               case e: RejectedExecutionException ⇒
                 mbox.setAsIdle()
-                prerequisites.eventStream.publish(Error(e, getClass.getName, getClass, "registerForExecution was rejected twice!"))
+                eventStream.publish(Error(e, getClass.getName, getClass, "registerForExecution was rejected twice!"))
                 throw e
             }
         }
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatchers.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatchers.scala
index 57b626a119..99fc8acc62 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatchers.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Dispatchers.scala
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import akka.event.Logging.Warning
 import akka.event.EventStream
 import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
 import akka.ConfigurationException
+import akka.actor.Deploy
 
 /**
  * DispatcherPrerequisites represents useful contextual pieces when constructing a MessageDispatcher
@@ -18,10 +19,10 @@ import akka.ConfigurationException
 trait DispatcherPrerequisites {
   def threadFactory: ThreadFactory
   def eventStream: EventStream
-  def deadLetterMailbox: Mailbox
   def scheduler: Scheduler
   def dynamicAccess: DynamicAccess
   def settings: ActorSystem.Settings
+  def mailboxes: Mailboxes
 }
 
 /**
@@ -30,10 +31,10 @@ trait DispatcherPrerequisites {
 private[akka] case class DefaultDispatcherPrerequisites(
   val threadFactory: ThreadFactory,
   val eventStream: EventStream,
-  val deadLetterMailbox: Mailbox,
   val scheduler: Scheduler,
   val dynamicAccess: DynamicAccess,
-  val settings: ActorSystem.Settings) extends DispatcherPrerequisites
+  val settings: ActorSystem.Settings,
+  val mailboxes: Mailboxes) extends DispatcherPrerequisites
 
 object Dispatchers {
   /**
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ class Dispatchers(val settings: ActorSystem.Settings, val prerequisites: Dispatc
   }
 
   //INTERNAL API
-  private def config(id: String): Config = {
+  private[akka] def config(id: String): Config = {
     import scala.collection.JavaConverters._
     def simpleName = id.substring(id.lastIndexOf('.') + 1)
     idConfig(id)
@@ -172,12 +173,10 @@ class DispatcherConfigurator(config: Config, prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisi
   extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
 
   private val instance = new Dispatcher(
-    prerequisites,
+    this,
     config.getString("id"),
     config.getInt("throughput"),
     Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
-    mailboxType,
-    mailBoxTypeConfigured,
     configureExecutor(),
     Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS))
 
@@ -187,22 +186,56 @@ class DispatcherConfigurator(config: Config, prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisi
   override def dispatcher(): MessageDispatcher = instance
 }
 
+/**
+ * INTERNAL API
+ */
+private[akka] object BalancingDispatcherConfigurator {
+  private val defaultRequirement =
+    ConfigFactory.parseString("mailbox-requirement = akka.dispatch.MultipleConsumerSemantics")
+  def amendConfig(config: Config): Config =
+    if (config.getString("mailbox-requirement") != Mailboxes.NoMailboxRequirement) config
+    else defaultRequirement.withFallback(config)
+}
+
 /**
  * Configurator for creating [[akka.dispatch.BalancingDispatcher]].
  * Returns the same dispatcher instance for for each invocation
  * of the `dispatcher()` method.
  */
-class BalancingDispatcherConfigurator(config: Config, prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites)
-  extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
+class BalancingDispatcherConfigurator(_config: Config, _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites)
+  extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(BalancingDispatcherConfigurator.amendConfig(_config), _prerequisites) {
 
-  private val instance = new BalancingDispatcher(
-    prerequisites,
-    config.getString("id"),
-    config.getInt("throughput"),
-    Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
-    mailboxType, mailBoxTypeConfigured, configureExecutor(),
-    Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS),
-    config.getBoolean("attempt-teamwork"))
+  private val instance = {
+    val mailboxes = prerequisites.mailboxes
+    val id = config.getString("id")
+    val requirement = mailboxes.getMailboxRequirement(config)
+    if (!classOf[MultipleConsumerSemantics].isAssignableFrom(requirement))
+      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+        "BalancingDispatcher must have 'mailbox-requirement' which implements akka.dispatch.MultipleConsumerSemantics; " +
+          s"dispatcher [$id] has [$requirement]")
+    val conf = config.withFallback(prerequisites.settings.config.getConfig(Mailboxes.DefaultMailboxId))
+    val mailboxType =
+      if (conf.getString("mailbox-type") != Deploy.NoMailboxGiven) mailboxes.lookupByQueueType(requirement)
+      else {
+        val mt = mailboxes.lookup(conf.getString("mailbox-type"))
+        if (!requirement.isAssignableFrom(mailboxes.getProducedMessageQueueType(mt)))
+          throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+            s"BalancingDispatcher [$id] has 'mailbox-type' [${mt.getClass}] which is incompatible with 'mailbox-requirement' [$requirement]")
+        mt
+      }
+    create(mailboxType)
+  }
+
+  protected def create(mailboxType: MailboxType): BalancingDispatcher =
+    new BalancingDispatcher(
+      this,
+      config.getString("id"),
+      config.getInt("throughput"),
+      Duration(config.getNanoseconds("throughput-deadline-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS),
+      mailboxType,
+      configureExecutor(),
+      Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS),
+      config.getBoolean("attempt-teamwork"))
 
   /**
    * Returns the same dispatcher instance for each invocation
@@ -233,7 +266,7 @@ class PinnedDispatcherConfigurator(config: Config, prerequisites: DispatcherPrer
    */
   override def dispatcher(): MessageDispatcher =
     new PinnedDispatcher(
-      prerequisites, null, config.getString("id"), mailboxType, mailBoxTypeConfigured,
+      this, null, config.getString("id"),
       Duration(config.getMilliseconds("shutdown-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS), threadPoolConfig)
 
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailbox.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailbox.scala
index 13cf8b6315..ebbb525830 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailbox.scala
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ private[akka] abstract class Mailbox(val messageQueue: MessageQueue)
      * if we closed the mailbox, we must dump the remaining system messages
      * to deadLetters (this is essential for DeathWatch)
      */
-    val dlm = actor.systemImpl.deadLetterMailbox
+    val dlm = actor.dispatcher.mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox
     while (messageList.nonEmpty) {
       val msg = messageList.head
       messageList = messageList.tail
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ private[akka] abstract class Mailbox(val messageQueue: MessageQueue)
    */
   protected[dispatch] def cleanUp(): Unit =
     if (actor ne null) { // actor is null for the deadLetterMailbox
-      val dlm = actor.systemImpl.deadLetterMailbox
+      val dlm = actor.dispatcher.mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox
       var messageList = systemDrain(new LatestFirstSystemMessageList(NoMessage))
       while (messageList.nonEmpty) {
         // message must be “virgin” before being able to systemEnqueue again
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ private[akka] abstract class Mailbox(val messageQueue: MessageQueue)
       }
 
       if (messageQueue ne null) // needed for CallingThreadDispatcher, which never calls Mailbox.run()
-        messageQueue.cleanUp(actor.self, actor.systemImpl.deadLetterMailbox.messageQueue)
+        messageQueue.cleanUp(actor.self, actor.dispatcher.mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox.messageQueue)
     }
 }
 
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ trait MessageQueue {
   def cleanUp(owner: ActorRef, deadLetters: MessageQueue): Unit
 }
 
-class NodeMessageQueue extends AbstractNodeQueue[Envelope] with MessageQueue {
+class NodeMessageQueue extends AbstractNodeQueue[Envelope] with MessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
 
   final def enqueue(receiver: ActorRef, handle: Envelope): Unit = add(handle)
 
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ private[akka] trait DefaultSystemMessageQueue { self: Mailbox ⇒
     if (Mailbox.debug) println(receiver + " having enqueued " + message)
     val currentList = systemQueueGet
     if (currentList.head == NoMessage) {
-      if (actor ne null) actor.systemImpl.deadLetterMailbox.systemEnqueue(receiver, message)
+      if (actor ne null) actor.dispatcher.mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox.systemEnqueue(receiver, message)
     } else {
       if (!systemQueuePut(currentList, message :: currentList)) {
         message.unlink()
@@ -418,10 +418,16 @@ private[akka] trait DefaultSystemMessageQueue { self: Mailbox ⇒
 
 }
 
+/**
+ * This is a marker trait for message queues which support multiple consumers,
+ * as is required by the BalancingDispatcher.
+ */
+trait MultipleConsumerSemantics
+
 /**
  * A QueueBasedMessageQueue is a MessageQueue backed by a java.util.Queue.
  */
-trait QueueBasedMessageQueue extends MessageQueue {
+trait QueueBasedMessageQueue extends MessageQueue with MultipleConsumerSemantics {
   def queue: Queue[Envelope]
   def numberOfMessages = queue.size
   def hasMessages = !queue.isEmpty
@@ -440,7 +446,9 @@ trait QueueBasedMessageQueue extends MessageQueue {
  * UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics adds unbounded semantics to a QueueBasedMessageQueue,
  * i.e. a non-blocking enqueue and dequeue.
  */
-trait UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics extends QueueBasedMessageQueue {
+trait UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics
+
+trait UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue extends QueueBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
   def enqueue(receiver: ActorRef, handle: Envelope): Unit = queue add handle
   def dequeue(): Envelope = queue.poll()
 }
@@ -449,8 +457,11 @@ trait UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics extends QueueBasedMessageQueue {
  * BoundedMessageQueueSemantics adds bounded semantics to a QueueBasedMessageQueue,
  * i.e. blocking enqueue with timeout.
  */
-trait BoundedMessageQueueSemantics extends QueueBasedMessageQueue {
+trait BoundedMessageQueueSemantics {
   def pushTimeOut: Duration
+}
+
+trait BoundedQueueBasedMessageQueue extends QueueBasedMessageQueue with BoundedMessageQueueSemantics {
   override def queue: BlockingQueue[Envelope]
 
   def enqueue(receiver: ActorRef, handle: Envelope): Unit =
@@ -466,16 +477,23 @@ trait BoundedMessageQueueSemantics extends QueueBasedMessageQueue {
 /**
  * DequeBasedMessageQueue refines QueueBasedMessageQueue to be backed by a java.util.Deque.
  */
-trait DequeBasedMessageQueue extends QueueBasedMessageQueue {
-  def queue: Deque[Envelope]
+trait DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics {
   def enqueueFirst(receiver: ActorRef, handle: Envelope): Unit
 }
 
+trait UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics extends DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics
+
+trait BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics extends DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics with BoundedMessageQueueSemantics
+
+trait DequeBasedMessageQueue extends QueueBasedMessageQueue with DequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics {
+  def queue: Deque[Envelope]
+}
+
 /**
  * UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics adds unbounded semantics to a DequeBasedMessageQueue,
  * i.e. a non-blocking enqueue and dequeue.
  */
-trait UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics extends DequeBasedMessageQueue {
+trait UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueue extends DequeBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics {
   def enqueue(receiver: ActorRef, handle: Envelope): Unit = queue add handle
   def enqueueFirst(receiver: ActorRef, handle: Envelope): Unit = queue addFirst handle
   def dequeue(): Envelope = queue.poll()
@@ -485,7 +503,7 @@ trait UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics extends DequeBasedMessageQueue {
  * BoundedMessageQueueSemantics adds bounded semantics to a DequeBasedMessageQueue,
  * i.e. blocking enqueue with timeout.
  */
-trait BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics extends DequeBasedMessageQueue {
+trait BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueue extends DequeBasedMessageQueue with BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics {
   def pushTimeOut: Duration
   override def queue: BlockingDeque[Envelope]
 
@@ -523,17 +541,23 @@ trait MailboxType {
   def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue
 }
 
+trait ProducesMessageQueue[T <: MessageQueue]
+
 /**
  * UnboundedMailbox is the default unbounded MailboxType used by Akka Actors.
  */
-case class UnboundedMailbox() extends MailboxType {
+case class UnboundedMailbox() extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[UnboundedMailbox.MessageQueue] {
 
   def this(settings: ActorSystem.Settings, config: Config) = this()
 
   final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-    new ConcurrentLinkedQueue[Envelope]() with QueueBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
-      final def queue: Queue[Envelope] = this
-    }
+    new UnboundedMailbox.MessageQueue
+}
+
+object UnboundedMailbox {
+  class MessageQueue extends ConcurrentLinkedQueue[Envelope] with UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
+    final def queue: Queue[Envelope] = this
+  }
 }
 
 /**
@@ -541,17 +565,18 @@ case class UnboundedMailbox() extends MailboxType {
  * the only drawback is that you can't have multiple consumers,
  * which rules out using it with BalancingDispatcher for instance.
  */
-case class SingleConsumerOnlyUnboundedMailbox() extends MailboxType {
+case class SingleConsumerOnlyUnboundedMailbox() extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[NodeMessageQueue] {
 
   def this(settings: ActorSystem.Settings, config: Config) = this()
 
-  final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue = new NodeMessageQueue()
+  final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue = new NodeMessageQueue
 }
 
 /**
  * BoundedMailbox is the default bounded MailboxType used by Akka Actors.
  */
-case class BoundedMailbox( final val capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: FiniteDuration) extends MailboxType {
+case class BoundedMailbox(val capacity: Int, val pushTimeOut: FiniteDuration)
+  extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[BoundedMailbox.MessageQueue] {
 
   def this(settings: ActorSystem.Settings, config: Config) = this(config.getInt("mailbox-capacity"),
     Duration(config.getNanoseconds("mailbox-push-timeout-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS))
@@ -560,57 +585,78 @@ case class BoundedMailbox( final val capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: Finit
   if (pushTimeOut eq null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("The push time-out for BoundedMailbox can not be null")
 
   final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-    new LinkedBlockingQueue[Envelope](capacity) with QueueBasedMessageQueue with BoundedMessageQueueSemantics {
-      final def queue: BlockingQueue[Envelope] = this
-      final val pushTimeOut = BoundedMailbox.this.pushTimeOut
-    }
+    new BoundedMailbox.MessageQueue(capacity, pushTimeOut)
+}
+
+object BoundedMailbox {
+  class MessageQueue(capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: FiniteDuration)
+    extends LinkedBlockingQueue[Envelope](capacity) with BoundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
+    final def queue: BlockingQueue[Envelope] = this
+  }
 }
 
 /**
  * UnboundedPriorityMailbox is an unbounded mailbox that allows for prioritization of its contents.
  * Extend this class and provide the Comparator in the constructor.
  */
-class UnboundedPriorityMailbox( final val cmp: Comparator[Envelope], final val initialCapacity: Int) extends MailboxType {
+class UnboundedPriorityMailbox(val cmp: Comparator[Envelope], val initialCapacity: Int)
+  extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[UnboundedPriorityMailbox.MessageQueue] {
   def this(cmp: Comparator[Envelope]) = this(cmp, 11)
   final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-    new PriorityBlockingQueue[Envelope](initialCapacity, cmp) with QueueBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
-      final def queue: Queue[Envelope] = this
-    }
+    new UnboundedPriorityMailbox.MessageQueue(initialCapacity, cmp)
+}
+
+object UnboundedPriorityMailbox {
+  class MessageQueue(initialCapacity: Int, cmp: Comparator[Envelope])
+    extends PriorityBlockingQueue[Envelope](initialCapacity, cmp) with UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
+    final def queue: Queue[Envelope] = this
+  }
 }
 
 /**
  * BoundedPriorityMailbox is a bounded mailbox that allows for prioritization of its contents.
  * Extend this class and provide the Comparator in the constructor.
  */
-class BoundedPriorityMailbox( final val cmp: Comparator[Envelope], final val capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: Duration) extends MailboxType {
+class BoundedPriorityMailbox( final val cmp: Comparator[Envelope], final val capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: Duration)
+  extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[BoundedPriorityMailbox.MessageQueue] {
 
   if (capacity < 0) throw new IllegalArgumentException("The capacity for BoundedMailbox can not be negative")
   if (pushTimeOut eq null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("The push time-out for BoundedMailbox can not be null")
 
   final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-    new BoundedBlockingQueue[Envelope](capacity, new PriorityQueue[Envelope](11, cmp)) with QueueBasedMessageQueue with BoundedMessageQueueSemantics {
-      final def queue: BlockingQueue[Envelope] = this
-      final val pushTimeOut = BoundedPriorityMailbox.this.pushTimeOut
-    }
+    new BoundedPriorityMailbox.MessageQueue(capacity, cmp, pushTimeOut)
+}
+
+object BoundedPriorityMailbox {
+  class MessageQueue(capacity: Int, cmp: Comparator[Envelope], val pushTimeOut: Duration)
+    extends BoundedBlockingQueue[Envelope](capacity, new PriorityQueue[Envelope](11, cmp))
+    with BoundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
+    final def queue: BlockingQueue[Envelope] = this
+  }
 }
 
 /**
  * UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox is an unbounded MailboxType, backed by a Deque.
  */
-case class UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox() extends MailboxType {
+case class UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox() extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox.MessageQueue] {
 
   def this(settings: ActorSystem.Settings, config: Config) = this()
 
   final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-    new LinkedBlockingDeque[Envelope]() with DequeBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics {
-      final val queue = this
-    }
+    new UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox.MessageQueue
+}
+
+object UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox {
+  class MessageQueue extends LinkedBlockingDeque[Envelope] with UnboundedDequeBasedMessageQueue {
+    final val queue = this
+  }
 }
 
 /**
  * BoundedDequeBasedMailbox is an bounded MailboxType, backed by a Deque.
  */
-case class BoundedDequeBasedMailbox( final val capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: FiniteDuration) extends MailboxType {
+case class BoundedDequeBasedMailbox( final val capacity: Int, final val pushTimeOut: FiniteDuration)
+  extends MailboxType with ProducesMessageQueue[BoundedDequeBasedMailbox.MessageQueue] {
 
   def this(settings: ActorSystem.Settings, config: Config) = this(config.getInt("mailbox-capacity"),
     Duration(config.getNanoseconds("mailbox-push-timeout-time"), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS))
@@ -619,10 +665,14 @@ case class BoundedDequeBasedMailbox( final val capacity: Int, final val pushTime
   if (pushTimeOut eq null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("The push time-out for BoundedDequeBasedMailbox can not be null")
 
   final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef], system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-    new LinkedBlockingDeque[Envelope](capacity) with DequeBasedMessageQueue with BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueueSemantics {
-      final val queue = this
-      final val pushTimeOut = BoundedDequeBasedMailbox.this.pushTimeOut
-    }
+    new BoundedDequeBasedMailbox.MessageQueue(capacity, pushTimeOut)
+}
+
+object BoundedDequeBasedMailbox {
+  class MessageQueue(capacity: Int, val pushTimeOut: FiniteDuration)
+    extends LinkedBlockingDeque[Envelope](capacity) with BoundedDequeBasedMessageQueue {
+    final val queue = this
+  }
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailboxes.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailboxes.scala
index 2633eeeb8c..0a3a3e9fd9 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailboxes.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/Mailboxes.scala
@@ -12,13 +12,48 @@ import akka.event.Logging.Warning
 import akka.ConfigurationException
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
 import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType
+import akka.util.Reflect
+import akka.actor.Props
+import akka.actor.Deploy
+import scala.util.Try
+import scala.util.Failure
+import scala.util.control.NonFatal
+import akka.actor.ActorRef
+import akka.actor.DeadLetter
+import akka.dispatch.sysmsg.SystemMessage
+import akka.dispatch.sysmsg.LatestFirstSystemMessageList
+import akka.dispatch.sysmsg.EarliestFirstSystemMessageList
+import akka.dispatch.sysmsg.SystemMessageList
+
+object Mailboxes {
+  final val DefaultMailboxId = "akka.actor.default-mailbox"
+  final val NoMailboxRequirement = ""
+}
 
 private[akka] class Mailboxes(
   val settings: ActorSystem.Settings,
   val eventStream: EventStream,
-  dynamicAccess: DynamicAccess) {
+  dynamicAccess: DynamicAccess,
+  deadLetters: ActorRef) {
 
-  private val mailboxTypeConfigurators = new ConcurrentHashMap[String, Option[MailboxTypeConfigurator]]
+  import Mailboxes._
+
+  val deadLetterMailbox: Mailbox = new Mailbox(new MessageQueue {
+    def enqueue(receiver: ActorRef, envelope: Envelope): Unit =
+      deadLetters.tell(DeadLetter(envelope.message, envelope.sender, receiver), envelope.sender)
+    def dequeue() = null
+    def hasMessages = false
+    def numberOfMessages = 0
+    def cleanUp(owner: ActorRef, deadLetters: MessageQueue): Unit = ()
+  }) {
+    becomeClosed()
+    def systemEnqueue(receiver: ActorRef, handle: SystemMessage): Unit =
+      deadLetters ! DeadLetter(handle, receiver, receiver)
+    def systemDrain(newContents: LatestFirstSystemMessageList): EarliestFirstSystemMessageList = SystemMessageList.ENil
+    def hasSystemMessages = false
+  }
+
+  private val mailboxTypeConfigurators = new ConcurrentHashMap[String, MailboxType]
 
   private val mailboxBindings: Map[Class[_ <: Any], String] = {
     import scala.collection.JavaConverters._
@@ -38,42 +73,95 @@ private[akka] class Mailboxes(
   /**
    * Returns a mailbox type as specified in configuration, based on the id, or if not defined None.
    */
-  def lookup(id: String): Option[MailboxType] = lookupConfigurator(id).map { _.mailboxType }
+  def lookup(id: String): MailboxType = lookupConfigurator(id)
 
   /**
    * Returns a mailbox type as specified in configuration, based on the type, or if not defined None.
    */
-  def lookupByQueueType(queueType: Class[_ <: Any]): Option[MailboxType] =
-    lookupId(queueType).flatMap(x ⇒ lookup(x))
+  def lookupByQueueType(queueType: Class[_ <: Any]): MailboxType = lookup(lookupId(queueType))
 
   private final val rmqClass = classOf[RequiresMessageQueue[_]]
   /**
    * Return the required message queue type for this class if any.
    */
-  def getRequiredType(actorClass: Class[_ <: Actor]): Option[Class[_]] = {
-    @tailrec
-    def innerRequiredType(classes: Iterator[Class[_]]): Option[Class[_]] = {
-      if (classes.isEmpty) None
-      else {
-        val c = classes.next()
-        if (rmqClass.isAssignableFrom(c)) {
-          val ifaces = c.getGenericInterfaces
-          val tpe = ifaces.collectFirst {
-            case t: ParameterizedType if rmqClass.isAssignableFrom(t.getRawType.asInstanceOf[Class[_]]) ⇒
-              t.getActualTypeArguments.head.asInstanceOf[Class[_]]
-          }
-          if (tpe.isDefined) tpe
-          else innerRequiredType(classes ++ ifaces.map {
-            case c: Class[_]          ⇒ c
-            case c: ParameterizedType ⇒ c.getRawType.asInstanceOf[Class[_]]
-          } ++ Iterator(c.getSuperclass))
-        } else {
-          innerRequiredType(classes)
-        }
+  def getRequiredType(actorClass: Class[_ <: Actor]): Class[_] =
+    Reflect.findMarker(actorClass, rmqClass) match {
+      case t: ParameterizedType ⇒ t.getActualTypeArguments.head match {
+        case c: Class[_] ⇒ c
+        case x           ⇒ throw new IllegalArgumentException(s"no wildcard type allowed in RequireMessageQueue argument (was [$x])")
       }
     }
-    if (rmqClass.isAssignableFrom(actorClass)) innerRequiredType(Iterator(actorClass))
-    else None
+
+  // don’t care if this happens twice
+  private var mailboxSizeWarningIssued = false
+
+  def getMailboxRequirement(config: Config) = config.getString("mailbox-requirement") match {
+    case NoMailboxRequirement ⇒ classOf[MessageQueue]
+    case x                    ⇒ dynamicAccess.getClassFor[AnyRef](x).get
+  }
+
+  def getProducedMessageQueueType(mailboxType: MailboxType): Class[_] = {
+    val pmqClass = classOf[ProducesMessageQueue[_]]
+    if (!pmqClass.isAssignableFrom(mailboxType.getClass)) classOf[MessageQueue]
+    else Reflect.findMarker(mailboxType.getClass, pmqClass) match {
+      case t: ParameterizedType ⇒
+        t.getActualTypeArguments.head match {
+          case c: Class[_] ⇒ c
+          case x ⇒ throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+            s"no wildcard type allowed in ProducesMessageQueue argument (was [$x])")
+        }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Finds out the mailbox type for an actor based on configuration, props and requirements.
+   */
+  protected[akka] def getMailboxType(props: Props, dispatcherConfig: Config): MailboxType = {
+    val id = dispatcherConfig.getString("id")
+    val deploy = props.deploy
+    val actorClass = props.actorClass
+    lazy val actorRequirement = getRequiredType(actorClass)
+
+    val mailboxRequirement: Class[_] = getMailboxRequirement(dispatcherConfig)
+
+    val hasMailboxRequirement: Boolean = mailboxRequirement != classOf[MessageQueue]
+
+    val hasMailboxType =
+      dispatcherConfig.hasPath("mailbox-type") &&
+        dispatcherConfig.getString("mailbox-type") != Deploy.NoMailboxGiven
+
+    // TODO remove in 2.3
+    if (!hasMailboxType && !mailboxSizeWarningIssued && dispatcherConfig.hasPath("mailbox-size")) {
+      eventStream.publish(Warning("mailboxes", getClass,
+        "ignoring setting 'mailbox-size' for dispatcher [$id], you need to specify 'mailbox-type=bounded'"))
+      mailboxSizeWarningIssued = true
+    }
+
+    def verifyRequirements(mailboxType: MailboxType): MailboxType = {
+      lazy val mqType: Class[_] = getProducedMessageQueueType(mailboxType)
+      if (hasMailboxRequirement && !mailboxRequirement.isAssignableFrom(mqType))
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+          s"produced message queue type [$mqType] does not fulfill requirement for dispatcher [${id}]")
+      if (hasRequiredType(actorClass) && !actorRequirement.isAssignableFrom(mqType))
+        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+          s"produced message queue type [$mqType] does not fulfill requirement for actor class [$actorClass]")
+      mailboxType
+    }
+
+    if (deploy.mailbox != Deploy.NoMailboxGiven) {
+      verifyRequirements(lookup(deploy.mailbox))
+    } else if (deploy.dispatcher != Deploy.NoDispatcherGiven && hasMailboxType) {
+      verifyRequirements(lookup(dispatcherConfig.getString("id")))
+    } else if (hasRequiredType(actorClass)) {
+      try verifyRequirements(lookupByQueueType(getRequiredType(actorClass)))
+      catch {
+        case NonFatal(thr) if (hasMailboxRequirement) ⇒ verifyRequirements(lookupByQueueType(mailboxRequirement))
+      }
+    } else if (hasMailboxRequirement) {
+      verifyRequirements(lookupByQueueType(mailboxRequirement))
+    } else {
+      verifyRequirements(lookup(DefaultMailboxId))
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -81,65 +169,53 @@ private[akka] class Mailboxes(
    */
   def hasRequiredType(actorClass: Class[_ <: Actor]): Boolean = rmqClass.isAssignableFrom(actorClass)
 
-  private def lookupId(queueType: Class[_]): Option[String] = {
+  private def lookupId(queueType: Class[_]): String =
     mailboxBindings.get(queueType) match {
-      case None ⇒
-        eventStream.publish(Warning("Mailboxes", this.getClass, s"Mailbox Mapping for [${queueType}] not configured"))
-        None
-      case s ⇒ s
+      case None    ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException(s"Mailbox Mapping for [${queueType}] not configured")
+      case Some(s) ⇒ s
     }
-  }
 
-  private def lookupConfigurator(id: String): Option[MailboxTypeConfigurator] = {
+  private def lookupConfigurator(id: String): MailboxType = {
     mailboxTypeConfigurators.get(id) match {
       case null ⇒
         // It doesn't matter if we create a mailbox type configurator that isn't used due to concurrent lookup.
-        val newConfigurator =
-          if (settings.config.hasPath(id)) {
-            Some(new MailboxTypeConfigurator(settings, config(id), dynamicAccess))
-          } else {
-            eventStream.publish(Warning("Mailboxes", this.getClass, s"Mailbox Type [${id}] not configured"))
-            None
-          }
+        val newConfigurator = id match {
+          // TODO RK remove these two for Akka 2.3
+          case "unbounded" ⇒ UnboundedMailbox()
+          case "bounded"   ⇒ new BoundedMailbox(settings, config(id))
+          case _ ⇒
+            if (!settings.config.hasPath(id)) throw new ConfigurationException(s"Mailbox Type [${id}] not configured")
+            val conf = config(id)
+            conf.getString("mailbox-type") match {
+              case "" ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException(s"The setting mailbox-type, defined in [$id] is empty")
+              case fqcn ⇒
+                val args = List(classOf[ActorSystem.Settings] -> settings, classOf[Config] -> conf)
+                dynamicAccess.createInstanceFor[MailboxType](fqcn, args).recover({
+                  case exception ⇒
+                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+                      (s"Cannot instantiate MailboxType [$fqcn], defined in [$id], make sure it has a public" +
+                        " constructor with [akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings, com.typesafe.config.Config] parameters"),
+                      exception)
+                }).get
+            }
+        }
 
-        if (newConfigurator.isDefined) {
-          mailboxTypeConfigurators.putIfAbsent(id, newConfigurator) match {
-            case null     ⇒ newConfigurator
-            case existing ⇒ existing
-          }
-        } else None
+        mailboxTypeConfigurators.putIfAbsent(id, newConfigurator) match {
+          case null     ⇒ newConfigurator
+          case existing ⇒ existing
+        }
 
       case existing ⇒ existing
     }
   }
 
+  private val defaultMailboxConfig = settings.config.getConfig(DefaultMailboxId)
+
   //INTERNAL API
   private def config(id: String): Config = {
     import scala.collection.JavaConverters._
     ConfigFactory.parseMap(Map("id" -> id).asJava)
       .withFallback(settings.config.getConfig(id))
+      .withFallback(defaultMailboxConfig)
   }
 }
-
-private[akka] class MailboxTypeConfigurator(
-  val settings: ActorSystem.Settings,
-  val config: Config,
-  dynamicAccess: DynamicAccess) {
-  private val instance: MailboxType = {
-    val id = config.getString("id")
-    config.getString("mailbox-type") match {
-      case "" ⇒ throw new IllegalArgumentException(s"The setting mailbox-type, defined in [${id}}] is empty")
-      case fqcn ⇒
-        val args = List(classOf[ActorSystem.Settings] -> settings, classOf[Config] -> config)
-        dynamicAccess.createInstanceFor[MailboxType](fqcn, args).recover({
-          case exception ⇒
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
-              (s"Cannot instantiate MailboxType [${fqcn}], defined in [${id}], make sure it has a public" +
-                " constructor with [akka.actor.ActorSystem.Settings, com.typesafe.config.Config] parameters"),
-              exception)
-        }).get
-    }
-  }
-
-  def mailboxType: MailboxType = instance
-}
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/PinnedDispatcher.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/PinnedDispatcher.scala
index adcf87d118..32f0e2c4ce 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/PinnedDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/dispatch/PinnedDispatcher.scala
@@ -15,19 +15,15 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration
  * the `lookup` method in [[akka.dispatch.Dispatchers]].
  */
 class PinnedDispatcher(
-  _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites,
+  _configurator: MessageDispatcherConfigurator,
   _actor: ActorCell,
   _id: String,
-  _mailboxType: MailboxType,
-  _mailboxTypeConfigured: Boolean,
   _shutdownTimeout: FiniteDuration,
   _threadPoolConfig: ThreadPoolConfig)
-  extends Dispatcher(_prerequisites,
+  extends Dispatcher(_configurator,
     _id,
     Int.MaxValue,
     Duration.Zero,
-    _mailboxType,
-    _mailboxTypeConfigured,
     _threadPoolConfig.copy(corePoolSize = 1, maxPoolSize = 1),
     _shutdownTimeout) {
 
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/routing/Routing.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/routing/Routing.scala
index 3a06c9955d..20bceb7f10 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/routing/Routing.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/routing/Routing.scala
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ package akka.routing
 
 import language.implicitConversions
 import language.postfixOps
-
 import scala.collection.immutable
 import scala.concurrent.duration._
 import akka.actor._
@@ -20,22 +19,33 @@ import akka.event.Logging.Warning
 import scala.concurrent.forkjoin.ThreadLocalRandom
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
 import akka.event.Logging.Warning
+import akka.dispatch.{ MailboxType, MessageDispatcher }
+import akka.dispatch.BalancingDispatcher
 
 /**
  * A RoutedActorRef is an ActorRef that has a set of connected ActorRef and it uses a Router to
  * send a message to one (or more) of these actors.
  */
-private[akka] class RoutedActorRef(_system: ActorSystemImpl, _props: Props, _supervisor: InternalActorRef, _path: ActorPath)
-  extends RepointableActorRef(_system, _props, _supervisor, _path) {
+private[akka] class RoutedActorRef(
+  _system: ActorSystemImpl,
+  _routerProps: Props,
+  _routerDispatcher: MessageDispatcher,
+  _routerMailbox: MailboxType,
+  _routeeProps: Props,
+  _supervisor: InternalActorRef,
+  _path: ActorPath)
+  extends RepointableActorRef(_system, _routerProps, _routerDispatcher, _routerMailbox, _supervisor, _path) {
 
   // verify that a BalancingDispatcher is not used with a Router
-  if (_props.routerConfig != NoRouter && _system.dispatchers.isBalancingDispatcher(_props.routerConfig.routerDispatcher)) {
+  if (_routerProps.routerConfig != NoRouter && _routerDispatcher.isInstanceOf[BalancingDispatcher]) {
     throw new ConfigurationException(
       "Configuration for " + this +
         " is invalid - you can not use a 'BalancingDispatcher' as a Router's dispatcher, you can however use it for the routees.")
-  } else _props.routerConfig.verifyConfig(_path)
+  } else _routerProps.routerConfig.verifyConfig(_path)
 
-  override def newCell(old: UnstartedCell): Cell = new RoutedActorCell(system, this, props, supervisor).init(sendSupervise = false)
+  override def newCell(old: UnstartedCell): Cell =
+    new RoutedActorCell(system, this, props, dispatcher, _routeeProps, supervisor)
+      .init(sendSupervise = false, mailboxType)
 
 }
 
@@ -46,16 +56,16 @@ private[akka] object RoutedActorCell {
   }
 }
 
-private[akka] final class RoutedActorCell(_system: ActorSystemImpl, _ref: InternalActorRef, _props: Props, _supervisor: InternalActorRef)
-  extends ActorCell(
-    _system,
-    _ref,
-    _props.copy(
-      deploy = _props.deploy.copy(dispatcher = _props.routerConfig.routerDispatcher),
-      classOf[RoutedActorCell.RouterCreator], Vector(_props.routerConfig)),
-    _supervisor) {
+private[akka] final class RoutedActorCell(
+  _system: ActorSystemImpl,
+  _ref: InternalActorRef,
+  _routerProps: Props,
+  _routerDispatcher: MessageDispatcher,
+  val routeeProps: Props,
+  _supervisor: InternalActorRef)
+  extends ActorCell(_system, _ref, _routerProps, _routerDispatcher, _supervisor) {
 
-  private[akka] val routerConfig = _props.routerConfig
+  private[akka] val routerConfig = _routerProps.routerConfig
   private[akka] val resizeInProgress = new AtomicBoolean
   private val resizeCounter = new AtomicLong
 
@@ -72,7 +82,6 @@ private[akka] final class RoutedActorCell(_system: ActorSystemImpl, _ref: Intern
   def route = _route
 
   private def startRoute() {
-    val routeeProps = _props.withRouter(NoRouter)
     _routeeProvider = routerConfig.createRouteeProvider(this, routeeProps)
     val r = routerConfig.createRoute(routeeProvider)
     // initial resize, before message send
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/util/Reflect.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/util/Reflect.scala
index 31d4b57bfd..4e67044bb0 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/util/Reflect.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/util/Reflect.scala
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ package akka.util
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 import java.lang.reflect.Constructor
 import scala.collection.immutable
+import java.lang.reflect.Type
+import scala.annotation.tailrec
+import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType
 
 /**
  * Collection of internal reflection utilities which may or may not be
@@ -95,4 +98,20 @@ private[akka] object Reflect {
    * @return a function which when applied will create a new instance from the default constructor of the given class
    */
   private[akka] def instantiator[T](clazz: Class[T]): () ⇒ T = () ⇒ instantiate(clazz)
+
+  def findMarker(root: Class[_], marker: Class[_]): Type = {
+    @tailrec def rec(curr: Class[_]): Type = {
+      if (curr.getSuperclass != null && marker.isAssignableFrom(curr.getSuperclass)) rec(curr.getSuperclass)
+      else curr.getGenericInterfaces collectFirst {
+        case c: Class[_] if marker isAssignableFrom c ⇒ c
+        case t: ParameterizedType if marker isAssignableFrom t.getRawType.asInstanceOf[Class[_]] ⇒ t
+      } match {
+        case None                       ⇒ throw new IllegalArgumentException("cannot find [$marker] in ancestors of [$root]")
+        case Some(c: Class[_])          ⇒ if (c == marker) c else rec(c)
+        case Some(t: ParameterizedType) ⇒ if (t.getRawType == marker) t else rec(t.getRawType.asInstanceOf[Class[_]])
+        case _                          ⇒ ??? // cannot happen due to collectFirst
+      }
+    }
+    rec(root)
+  }
 }
diff --git a/akka-contrib/src/main/scala/akka/contrib/mailbox/PeekMailbox.scala b/akka-contrib/src/main/scala/akka/contrib/mailbox/PeekMailbox.scala
index 27ad61e394..1c5875f401 100644
--- a/akka-contrib/src/main/scala/akka/contrib/mailbox/PeekMailbox.scala
+++ b/akka-contrib/src/main/scala/akka/contrib/mailbox/PeekMailbox.scala
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.{ ConcurrentHashMap, ConcurrentLinkedQueue }
 import com.typesafe.config.Config
 
 import akka.actor.{ ActorContext, ActorRef, ActorSystem, ExtendedActorSystem, Extension, ExtensionId, ExtensionIdProvider }
-import akka.dispatch.{ Envelope, MailboxType, MessageQueue, QueueBasedMessageQueue, UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics }
+import akka.dispatch.{ Envelope, MailboxType, MessageQueue, UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue }
 
 object PeekMailboxExtension extends ExtensionId[PeekMailboxExtension] with ExtensionIdProvider {
   def lookup = this
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ class PeekMailboxType(settings: ActorSystem.Settings, config: Config) extends Ma
 }
 
 class PeekMailbox(owner: ActorRef, system: ActorSystem, maxRetries: Int)
-  extends QueueBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
+  extends UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
   final val queue = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue[Envelope]()
 
   /*
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/java/mailboxes.rst b/akka-docs/rst/java/mailboxes.rst
index c2b8c8bbf2..ea6f4b4eb6 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/java/mailboxes.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/java/mailboxes.rst
@@ -1,14 +1,96 @@
 .. _mailboxes-java:
 
 Mailboxes
-=========
+#########
 
 An Akka ``Mailbox`` holds the messages that are destined for an ``Actor``.
 Normally each ``Actor`` has its own mailbox, but with for example a ``BalancingDispatcher``
 all actors with the same ``BalancingDispatcher`` will share a single instance.
 
+Mailbox Selection
+=================
+
+Requiring a Message Queue Type for an Actor
+-------------------------------------------
+
+It is possible to require a certain type of message queue for a certain type of actor
+by having that actor implement the parameterized interface :class:`RequiresMessageQueue`. Here is
+an example:
+
+.. includecode:: code/docs/actor/MyBoundedUntypedActor.java#my-bounded-untyped-actor
+
+The type parameter to the :class:`RequiresMessageQueue` interface needs to be mapped to a mailbox in
+configuration like this:
+
+.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
+   :include: bounded-mailbox-config,required-mailbox-config
+
+Now every time you create an actor of type :class:`MyBoundedUntypedActor` it will try to get a bounded
+mailbox. If the actor has a different mailbox configured in deployment, either directly or via
+a dispatcher with a specified mailbox type, then that will override this mapping.
+
+.. note::
+
+  The type of the queue in the mailbox created for an actor will be checked against the required type in the
+  interface and if the queue doesn't implement the required type then actor creation will fail.
+
+Requiring a Message Queue Type for a Dispatcher
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+A dispatcher may also have a requirement for the mailbox type used by the
+actors running on it. An example is the BalancingDispatcher which requires a
+message queue that is thread-safe for multiple concurrent consumers. Such a
+requirement is formulated within the dispatcher configuration section like
+this::
+
+  my-dispatcher {
+    mailbox-requirement = org.example.MyInterface
+  }
+
+The given requirement names a class or interface which will then be ensured to
+be a supertype of the message queue’s implementation. In case of a
+conflict—e.g. if the actor requires a mailbox type which does not satisfy this
+requirement—then actor creation will fail.
+
+How the Mailbox Type is Selected
+--------------------------------
+
+When an actor is created, the :class:`ActorRefProvider` first determines the
+dispatcher which will execute it. Then the mailbox is determined as follows:
+
+1. If the actor’s deployment configuration section contains a ``mailbox`` key
+   then that names a configuration section describing the mailbox type to be
+   used.
+
+2. If the actor’s ``Props`` contains a mailbox selection—i.e. ``withMailbox``
+   was called on it—then that names a configuration section describing the
+   mailbox type to be used.
+
+3. If the dispatcher’s configuration section contains a ``mailbox-type`` key
+   the same section will be used to configure the mailbox type.
+
+4. If the actor requires a mailbox type as described above then the mapping for
+   that requirement will be used to determine the mailbox type to be used; if
+   that fails then the dispatcher’s requirement—if any—will be tried instead.
+
+5. If the dispatcher requires a mailbox type as described above then the
+   mapping for that requirement will be used to determine the mailbox type to
+   be used.
+
+6. The default mailbox ``akka.actor.default-mailbox`` will be used.
+
+Which Configuration is passed to the Mailbox Type
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+Each mailbox type is implemented by a class which extends :class:`MailboxType`
+and takes two constructor arguments: a :class:`ActorSystem.Settings` object and
+a :class:`Config` section. The latter is computed by obtaining the named
+configuration section from the actor system’s configuration, overriding its
+``id`` key with the configuration path of the mailbox type and adding a
+fall-back to the default mailbox configuration section.
+
 Builtin Mailbox Implementations
--------------------------------
+===============================
 
 Akka comes shipped with a number of default mailbox implementations:
 
@@ -47,7 +129,7 @@ Akka comes shipped with a number of default mailbox implementations:
 * Durable mailboxes, see :ref:`durable-mailboxes-java`.
 
 Mailbox configuration examples
-------------------------------
+==============================
 
 How to create a PriorityMailbox:
 
@@ -75,44 +157,8 @@ Or code like this:
 .. includecode:: code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocTest.java#defining-mailbox-in-code
 
 
-Requiring a message queue type for an Actor
--------------------------------------------
-
-It is possible to require a certain type of message queue for a certain type of actor
-by having that actor implement the parameterized interface :class:`RequiresMessageQueue`. Here is
-an example:
-
-.. includecode:: code/docs/actor/MyBoundedUntypedActor.java#my-bounded-untyped-actor
-
-The type parameter to the :class:`RequiresMessageQueue` interface needs to be mapped to a mailbox in
-configuration like this:
-
-.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
-   :include: bounded-mailbox-config,required-mailbox-config
-
-Now every time you create an actor of type :class:`MyBoundedUntypedActor` it will try to get a bounded
-mailbox. If the actor has a different mailbox configured in deployment, either directly or via
-a dispatcher with a specified mailbox type, then that will override this mapping.
-
-.. note::
-
-  The type of the queue in the mailbox created for an actor will be checked against the required type in the
-  interface and if the queue doesn't implement the required type then actor creation will fail.
-
-
-Mailbox configuration precedence
---------------------------------
-
-The order of precedence for the mailbox type of an actor, where lower numbers override higher, is:
-
-1. Mailbox type configured in the deployment of the actor
-2. Mailbox type configured on the dispatcher of the actor
-3. Mailbox type configured on the Props of the actor
-4. Mailbox type configured via message queue requirement
-
-
 Creating your own Mailbox type
-------------------------------
+==============================
 
 An example is worth a thousand quacks:
 
@@ -135,7 +181,7 @@ configuration, or the mailbox configuration.
 
 
 Special Semantics of ``system.actorOf``
----------------------------------------
+=======================================
 
 In order to make ``system.actorOf`` both synchronous and non-blocking while
 keeping the return type :class:`ActorRef` (and the semantics that the returned
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst b/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst
index fe73e89f1d..56a5174fcb 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/project/migration-guide-2.1.x-2.2.x.rst
@@ -85,12 +85,12 @@ Search                               Replace with
 If you need to convert from Java to ``scala.collection.immutable.Seq`` or ``scala.collection.immutable.Iterable`` you should use ``akka.japi.Util.immutableSeq(…)``,
 and if you need to convert from Scala you can simply switch to using immutable collections yourself or use the ``to[immutable.<collection-type>]`` method.
 
-ActorContext & ActorRefFactory dispatcher
+ActorContext & ActorRefFactory Dispatcher
 =========================================
 
 The return type of ``ActorContext``'s and ``ActorRefFactory``'s ``dispatcher``-method now returns ``ExecutionContext`` instead of ``MessageDispatcher``.
 
-Removed fallback to default dispatcher
+Removed Fallback to Default Dispatcher
 ======================================
 
 If deploying an actor with a specific dispatcher, e.g.
@@ -106,6 +106,17 @@ Akka 2.2 introduces the possibility to add dispatcher configuration to the
 The fallback was removed because in many cases its application was neither
 intended nor noticed.
 
+Changed Configuration Section for Dispatcher & Mailbox
+======================================================
+
+The mailbox configuration defaults moved from ``akka.actor.default-dispatcher``
+to ``akka.actor.default-mailbox``. You will not have to change anything unless
+your configuration overrides a setting in the default dispatcher section.
+
+The ``mailbox-type`` now requires a fully-qualified class name for the mailbox
+to use. The special words ``bounded`` and ``unbounded`` are retained for a
+migration period throughout the 2.2 series.
+
 API changes to FSM and TestFSMRef
 =================================
 
@@ -348,3 +359,20 @@ message. Therefore the following is now safe::
   context.stop(target)
   context.unwatch(target)
 
+Dispatcher and Mailbox Implementation Changes
+=============================================
+
+This point is only relevant if you have implemented a custom mailbox or
+dispatcher and want to migrate that to Akka 2.2. The constructor signature of
+:class:`MessageDispatcher` has changed, it now takes a
+:class:`MessageDispatcherConfigurator` instead of
+:class:`DispatcherPrerequisites`. Its :class:`createMailbox` method now
+receives one more argument of type :class:`MailboxType`, which is the mailbox
+type determined by the :class:`ActorRefProvider` for the actor based on its
+deployment. The :class:`DispatcherPrerequisites` now include a
+:class:`Mailboxes` instance which can be used for resolving mailbox references.
+The constructor signatures of the built-in dispatcher implementation have been
+adapted accordingly.  The traits describing mailbox semantics have been
+separated from the implementation traits.
+
+
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
index 3cbaefcacd..f007722a7f 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
@@ -203,8 +203,7 @@ object DispatcherDocSpec {
     import akka.dispatch.{
       Envelope,
       MessageQueue,
-      QueueBasedMessageQueue,
-      UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics
+      UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue
     }
 
     // This constructor signature must exist, it will be called by Akka
@@ -213,7 +212,7 @@ object DispatcherDocSpec {
     // The create method is called to create the MessageQueue
     final override def create(owner: Option[ActorRef],
                               system: Option[ActorSystem]): MessageQueue =
-      new QueueBasedMessageQueue with UnboundedMessageQueueSemantics {
+      new UnboundedQueueBasedMessageQueue {
         final val queue = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue[Envelope]()
       }
   }
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/routing/RouterViaProgramDocSpec.scala b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/routing/RouterViaProgramDocSpec.scala
index c71164d427..96f62a40cb 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/routing/RouterViaProgramDocSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/code/docs/routing/RouterViaProgramDocSpec.scala
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class RouterViaProgramDocSpec extends AkkaSpec with ImplicitSender {
     val actor3 = system.actorOf(Props[ExampleActor1], "actor3")
     val routees = Vector[String]("/user/actor1", "/user/actor2", "/user/actor3")
     val router = system.actorOf(
-      Props().withRouter(RoundRobinRouter(routees = routees)))
+      Props.empty.withRouter(RoundRobinRouter(routees = routees)))
     //#programmaticRoutingRouteePaths
     1 to 6 foreach { i ⇒ router ! Message1(i) }
     val received = receiveN(6, 5.seconds.dilated)
diff --git a/akka-docs/rst/scala/mailboxes.rst b/akka-docs/rst/scala/mailboxes.rst
index ac933cb781..ccd1c6076d 100644
--- a/akka-docs/rst/scala/mailboxes.rst
+++ b/akka-docs/rst/scala/mailboxes.rst
@@ -1,14 +1,96 @@
 .. _mailboxes-scala:
 
 Mailboxes
-=========
+#########
 
 An Akka ``Mailbox`` holds the messages that are destined for an ``Actor``.
 Normally each ``Actor`` has its own mailbox, but with for example a ``BalancingDispatcher``
 all actors with the same ``BalancingDispatcher`` will share a single instance.
 
+Mailbox Selection
+=================
+
+Requiring a Message Queue Type for an Actor
+-------------------------------------------
+
+It is possible to require a certain type of message queue for a certain type of actor
+by having that actor extend the parameterized trait :class:`RequiresMessageQueue`. Here is
+an example:
+
+.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala#required-mailbox-class
+
+The type parameter to the :class:`RequiresMessageQueue` trait needs to be mapped to a mailbox in
+configuration like this:
+
+.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
+   :include: bounded-mailbox-config,required-mailbox-config
+
+Now every time you create an actor of type :class:`MyBoundedActor` it will try to get a bounded
+mailbox. If the actor has a different mailbox configured in deployment, either directly or via
+a dispatcher with a specified mailbox type, then that will override this mapping.
+
+.. note::
+
+  The type of the queue in the mailbox created for an actor will be checked against the required type in the
+  trait and if the queue doesn't implement the required type then actor creation will fail.
+
+Requiring a Message Queue Type for a Dispatcher
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+A dispatcher may also have a requirement for the mailbox type used by the
+actors running on it. An example is the BalancingDispatcher which requires a
+message queue that is thread-safe for multiple concurrent consumers. Such a
+requirement is formulated within the dispatcher configuration section like
+this::
+
+  my-dispatcher {
+    mailbox-requirement = org.example.MyInterface
+  }
+
+The given requirement names a class or interface which will then be ensured to
+be a supertype of the message queue’s implementation. In case of a
+conflict—e.g. if the actor requires a mailbox type which does not satisfy this
+requirement—then actor creation will fail.
+
+How the Mailbox Type is Selected
+--------------------------------
+
+When an actor is created, the :class:`ActorRefProvider` first determines the
+dispatcher which will execute it. Then the mailbox is determined as follows:
+
+1. If the actor’s deployment configuration section contains a ``mailbox`` key
+   then that names a configuration section describing the mailbox type to be
+   used.
+
+2. If the actor’s ``Props`` contains a mailbox selection—i.e. ``withMailbox``
+   was called on it—then that names a configuration section describing the
+   mailbox type to be used.
+
+3. If the dispatcher’s configuration section contains a ``mailbox-type`` key
+   the same section will be used to configure the mailbox type.
+
+4. If the actor requires a mailbox type as described above then the mapping for
+   that requirement will be used to determine the mailbox type to be used; if
+   that fails then the dispatcher’s requirement—if any—will be tried instead.
+
+5. If the dispatcher requires a mailbox type as described above then the
+   mapping for that requirement will be used to determine the mailbox type to
+   be used.
+
+6. The default mailbox ``akka.actor.default-mailbox`` will be used.
+
+Which Configuration is passed to the Mailbox Type
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+Each mailbox type is implemented by a class which extends :class:`MailboxType`
+and takes two constructor arguments: a :class:`ActorSystem.Settings` object and
+a :class:`Config` section. The latter is computed by obtaining the named
+configuration section from the actor system’s configuration, overriding its
+``id`` key with the configuration path of the mailbox type and adding a
+fall-back to the default mailbox configuration section.
+
 Builtin implementations
------------------------
+=======================
 
 Akka comes shipped with a number of default mailbox implementations:
 
@@ -47,7 +129,7 @@ Akka comes shipped with a number of default mailbox implementations:
 * Durable mailboxes, see :ref:`durable-mailboxes-scala`.
 
 Mailbox configuration examples
-------------------------------
+==============================
 
 How to create a PriorityMailbox:
 
@@ -75,44 +157,8 @@ Or code like this:
 .. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala#defining-mailbox-in-code
 
 
-Requiring a message queue type for an Actor
--------------------------------------------
-
-It is possible to require a certain type of message queue for a certain type of actor
-by having that actor extend the parameterized trait :class:`RequiresMessageQueue`. Here is
-an example:
-
-.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala#required-mailbox-class
-
-The type parameter to the :class:`RequiresMessageQueue` trait needs to be mapped to a mailbox in
-configuration like this:
-
-.. includecode:: ../scala/code/docs/dispatcher/DispatcherDocSpec.scala
-   :include: bounded-mailbox-config,required-mailbox-config
-
-Now every time you create an actor of type :class:`MyBoundedActor` it will try to get a bounded
-mailbox. If the actor has a different mailbox configured in deployment, either directly or via
-a dispatcher with a specified mailbox type, then that will override this mapping.
-
-.. note::
-
-  The type of the queue in the mailbox created for an actor will be checked against the required type in the
-  trait and if the queue doesn't implement the required type then actor creation will fail.
-
-
-Mailbox configuration precedence
---------------------------------
-
-The order of precedence for the mailbox type of an actor, where lower numbers override higher, is:
-
-1. Mailbox type configured in the deployment of the actor
-2. Mailbox type configured on the dispatcher of the actor
-3. Mailbox type configured on the Props of the actor
-4. Mailbox type configured via message queue requirement
-
-
 Creating your own Mailbox type
-------------------------------
+==============================
 
 An example is worth a thousand quacks:
 
@@ -133,7 +179,7 @@ configuration, or the mailbox configuration.
 
 
 Special Semantics of ``system.actorOf``
----------------------------------------
+=======================================
 
 In order to make ``system.actorOf`` both synchronous and non-blocking while
 keeping the return type :class:`ActorRef` (and the semantics that the returned
diff --git a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala
index 2245542b4e..aa971b3b43 100644
--- a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala
+++ b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala
@@ -270,8 +270,16 @@ private[akka] class RemoteActorRefProvider(
           if (hasAddress(addr)) {
             local.actorOf(system, props, supervisor, path, false, deployment.headOption, false, async)
           } else if (props.deploy.scope == LocalScope) {
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException(s"configuration requested remote deployment for local-only Props at [$path]")
+            throw new ConfigurationException(s"configuration requested remote deployment for local-only Props at [$path]")
           } else try {
+            try {
+              // for consistency we check configuration of dispatcher and mailbox locally
+              val dispatcher = system.dispatchers.lookup(props.dispatcher)
+              system.mailboxes.getMailboxType(props, dispatcher.configurator.config)
+            } catch {
+              case NonFatal(e) ⇒ throw new ConfigurationException(
+                s"configuration problem while creating [$path] with dispatcher [${props.dispatcher}] and mailbox [${props.mailbox}]", e)
+            }
             val localAddress = transport.localAddressForRemote(addr)
             val rpath = (RootActorPath(addr) / "remote" / localAddress.protocol / localAddress.hostPort / path.elements).
               withUid(path.uid)
diff --git a/akka-remote/src/test/scala/akka/remote/RemoteDeployerSpec.scala b/akka-remote/src/test/scala/akka/remote/RemoteDeployerSpec.scala
index 4d758ef06a..6ff29c1923 100644
--- a/akka-remote/src/test/scala/akka/remote/RemoteDeployerSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-remote/src/test/scala/akka/remote/RemoteDeployerSpec.scala
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import akka.testkit._
 import akka.actor._
 import akka.routing._
 import com.typesafe.config._
+import akka.ConfigurationException
 
 object RemoteDeployerSpec {
   val deployerConf = ConfigFactory.parseString("""
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ class RemoteDeployerSpec extends AkkaSpec(RemoteDeployerSpec.deployerConf) {
     }
 
     "reject remote deployment when the source requires LocalScope" in {
-      intercept[IllegalArgumentException] {
+      intercept[ConfigurationException] {
         system.actorOf(Props.empty.withDeploy(Deploy.local), "service2")
       }.getMessage must be === "configuration requested remote deployment for local-only Props at [akka://RemoteDeployerSpec/user/service2]"
     }
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcher.scala b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcher.scala
index 0b5edad20f..78607fcf16 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/CallingThreadDispatcher.scala
@@ -126,18 +126,16 @@ object CallingThreadDispatcher {
  *
  * @since 1.1
  */
-class CallingThreadDispatcher(
-  _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites,
-  val mailboxType: MailboxType,
-  val mailboxTypeConfigured: Boolean) extends MessageDispatcher(_prerequisites) {
+class CallingThreadDispatcher(_configurator: MessageDispatcherConfigurator) extends MessageDispatcher(_configurator) {
   import CallingThreadDispatcher._
+  import configurator.prerequisites._
 
-  val log = akka.event.Logging(prerequisites.eventStream, "CallingThreadDispatcher")
+  val log = akka.event.Logging(eventStream, "CallingThreadDispatcher")
 
   override def id: String = Id
 
-  protected[akka] override def createMailbox(actor: akka.actor.Cell) =
-    new CallingThreadMailbox(actor, getMailboxType(actor, mailboxType, mailboxTypeConfigured))
+  protected[akka] override def createMailbox(actor: akka.actor.Cell, mailboxType: MailboxType) =
+    new CallingThreadMailbox(actor, mailboxType)
 
   protected[akka] override def shutdown() {}
 
@@ -303,7 +301,7 @@ class CallingThreadDispatcher(
 class CallingThreadDispatcherConfigurator(config: Config, prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites)
   extends MessageDispatcherConfigurator(config, prerequisites) {
 
-  private val instance = new CallingThreadDispatcher(prerequisites, mailboxType(), mailBoxTypeConfigured)
+  private val instance = new CallingThreadDispatcher(this)
 
   override def dispatcher(): MessageDispatcher = instance
 }
@@ -342,7 +340,7 @@ class CallingThreadMailbox(_receiver: akka.actor.Cell, val mailboxType: MailboxT
       val qq = queue
       CallingThreadDispatcherQueues(actor.system).gatherFromAllOtherQueues(this, qq)
       super.cleanUp()
-      qq.cleanUp(actor.self, actor.systemImpl.deadLetterMailbox.messageQueue)
+      qq.cleanUp(actor.self, actor.dispatcher.mailboxes.deadLetterMailbox.messageQueue)
       q.remove()
     }
   }
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala
index cb95ba299c..a84247b901 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala
@@ -20,11 +20,15 @@ import akka.pattern.ask
  */
 class TestActorRef[T <: Actor](
   _system: ActorSystem,
-  _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites,
   _props: Props,
   _supervisor: ActorRef,
   name: String)
   extends {
+    val props =
+      _props.withDispatcher(
+        if (_props.deploy.dispatcher == Deploy.NoDispatcherGiven) CallingThreadDispatcher.Id
+        else _props.dispatcher)
+    val dispatcher = _system.dispatchers.lookup(props.dispatcher)
     private val disregard = _supervisor match {
       case l: LocalActorRef ⇒ l.underlying.reserveChild(name)
       case r: RepointableActorRef ⇒ r.underlying match {
@@ -36,9 +40,9 @@ class TestActorRef[T <: Actor](
     }
   } with LocalActorRef(
     _system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl],
-    _props.withDispatcher(
-      if (_props.dispatcher == Dispatchers.DefaultDispatcherId) CallingThreadDispatcher.Id
-      else _props.dispatcher),
+    props,
+    dispatcher,
+    _system.mailboxes.getMailboxType(props, dispatcher.configurator.config),
     _supervisor.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef],
     _supervisor.path / name) {
 
@@ -47,8 +51,9 @@ class TestActorRef[T <: Actor](
 
   import TestActorRef.InternalGetActor
 
-  protected override def newActorCell(system: ActorSystemImpl, ref: InternalActorRef, props: Props, supervisor: InternalActorRef): ActorCell =
-    new ActorCell(system, ref, props, supervisor) {
+  protected override def newActorCell(system: ActorSystemImpl, ref: InternalActorRef, props: Props,
+                                      dispatcher: MessageDispatcher, supervisor: InternalActorRef): ActorCell =
+    new ActorCell(system, ref, props, dispatcher, supervisor) {
       override def autoReceiveMessage(msg: Envelope) {
         msg.message match {
           case InternalGetActor ⇒ sender ! actor
@@ -132,7 +137,8 @@ object TestActorRef {
     apply[T](props, system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl].guardian, name)
 
   def apply[T <: Actor](props: Props, supervisor: ActorRef, name: String)(implicit system: ActorSystem): TestActorRef[T] = {
-    new TestActorRef(system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl], system.dispatchers.prerequisites, props, supervisor.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], name)
+    val sysImpl = system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl]
+    new TestActorRef(sysImpl, props, supervisor.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], name)
   }
 
   def apply[T <: Actor](implicit t: ClassTag[T], system: ActorSystem): TestActorRef[T] = apply[T](randomName)
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestFSMRef.scala b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestFSMRef.scala
index 4c285e5fe4..67b5a2c068 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestFSMRef.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestFSMRef.scala
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import akka.actor._
 import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
 import akka.dispatch.DispatcherPrerequisites
 import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration
+import akka.dispatch.MessageDispatcher
+import akka.dispatch.MailboxType
 
 /**
  * This is a specialised form of the TestActorRef with support for querying and
@@ -35,11 +37,10 @@ import scala.concurrent.duration.FiniteDuration
  */
 class TestFSMRef[S, D, T <: Actor](
   system: ActorSystem,
-  _prerequisites: DispatcherPrerequisites,
   props: Props,
   supervisor: ActorRef,
   name: String)(implicit ev: T <:< FSM[S, D])
-  extends TestActorRef(system, _prerequisites, props, supervisor, name) {
+  extends TestActorRef(system, props, supervisor, name) {
 
   private def fsm: T = underlyingActor
 
@@ -93,11 +94,11 @@ object TestFSMRef {
 
   def apply[S, D, T <: Actor](factory: ⇒ T)(implicit ev: T <:< FSM[S, D], system: ActorSystem): TestFSMRef[S, D, T] = {
     val impl = system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl] //TODO ticket #1559
-    new TestFSMRef(impl, system.dispatchers.prerequisites, Props(creator = () ⇒ factory), impl.guardian.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], TestActorRef.randomName)
+    new TestFSMRef(impl, Props(creator = () ⇒ factory), impl.guardian.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], TestActorRef.randomName)
   }
 
   def apply[S, D, T <: Actor](factory: ⇒ T, name: String)(implicit ev: T <:< FSM[S, D], system: ActorSystem): TestFSMRef[S, D, T] = {
     val impl = system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl] //TODO ticket #1559
-    new TestFSMRef(impl, system.dispatchers.prerequisites, Props(creator = () ⇒ factory), impl.guardian.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], name)
+    new TestFSMRef(impl, Props(creator = () ⇒ factory), impl.guardian.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], name)
   }
 }