diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRegistry.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRegistry.scala
index ea77b2c6b7..ee1b6e2b4f 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRegistry.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRegistry.scala
@@ -65,6 +65,12 @@ object ActorRegistry extends Logging {
     all.toList
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Finds any actor that matches T.
+   */
+  def actorFor[T <: Actor](implicit manifest: Manifest[T]): Option[ActorRef] =
+    actorsFor[T](manifest).headOption
+
   /**
    * Finds all actors of the exact type specified by the class passed in as the Class argument.
    */