diff --git a/include/pybind11/pybind11.h b/include/pybind11/pybind11.h
index 6cedcc262..1a12ed0b5 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/pybind11.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/pybind11.h
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ protected:
                         extra_args = tuple(args_size);
                         for (size_t i = 0; i < args_size; ++i) {
                             handle item = PyTuple_GET_ITEM(args_in, args_copied + i);
-                            extra_args[i] = item.inc_ref().ptr();
+                            extra_args[i] = reinterpret_borrow<object>(item);
                         }
                     }
                     call.args.push_back(extra_args);