diff --git a/include/wx/buffer.h b/include/wx/buffer.h
index 87b0507022..3d13483d11 100644
--- a/include/wx/buffer.h
+++ b/include/wx/buffer.h
@@ -83,13 +83,13 @@ public:
    {
      m_wcs = src.m_wcs;
      // no reference count yet...
-     (wxWCharBuffer)src.m_wcs = (wchar_t *)NULL;
+     ((wxWCharBuffer*)&src)->m_wcs = (wchar_t *)NULL;
    }
    wxWCharBuffer& operator=(const wxWCharBuffer& src)
    {
      m_wcs = src.m_wcs;
      // no reference count yet...
-     (wxWCharBuffer)src.m_wcs = (wchar_t *)NULL;
+     ((wxWCharBuffer*)&src)->m_wcs = (wchar_t *)NULL;
      return *this;
    }