diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
index b46d95b669..e659928743 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
@@ -397,8 +397,8 @@ private[akka] class ActorCell(
           clearActorFields()
         }
       }
-      val freshActor = newActor()
-      actor = freshActor // assign it here so if preStart fails, we can null out the sef-refs next call
+      val freshActor = newActor() // this must happen after failedActor.preRestart (to scrap those children)
+      actor = freshActor // this must happen before postRestart has a chance to fail
       freshActor.postRestart(cause)
       if (system.settings.DebugLifecycle) system.eventStream.publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(freshActor), "restarted"))