diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala
index 91c4ced285..e1d8e3b04c 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Props.scala
@@ -186,9 +186,10 @@ case class Props(
  * able to optimize serialization.
  */
 private[akka] case class FromClassCreator(clazz: Class[_ <: Actor]) extends Function0[Actor] {
-  def apply(): Actor = {
-    val ctor = clazz.getDeclaredConstructor()
-    ctor.setAccessible(true)
-    ctor.newInstance()
+  def apply(): Actor = try clazz.newInstance catch {
+    case iae: IllegalAccessException ⇒
+      val ctor = clazz.getDeclaredConstructor()
+      ctor.setAccessible(true)
+      ctor.newInstance()
   }
 }