diff --git a/src/libstd/sys/common/thread.rs b/src/libstd/sys/common/thread.rs
index 16f4f01bf39fe..b086337efb212 100644
--- a/src/libstd/sys/common/thread.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/sys/common/thread.rs
@@ -11,14 +11,13 @@
 use prelude::v1::*;
 
 use alloc::boxed::FnBox;
-use libc;
 use sys::stack_overflow;
 
-pub unsafe fn start_thread(main: *mut libc::c_void) {
+pub unsafe fn start_thread<'a>(main: Box<FnBox() + 'a>) {
     // Next, set up our stack overflow handler which may get triggered if we run
     // out of stack.
     let _handler = stack_overflow::Handler::new();
 
     // Finally, let's run some code.
-    Box::from_raw(main as *mut Box<FnBox()>)()
+    main();
 }
diff --git a/src/libstd/sys/unix/thread.rs b/src/libstd/sys/unix/thread.rs
index 793a2ecae89f1..67b0d0fbb9d31 100644
--- a/src/libstd/sys/unix/thread.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/sys/unix/thread.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 
 use prelude::v1::*;
 
-use alloc::boxed::FnBox;
 use cmp;
 #[cfg(not(any(target_env = "newlib", target_os = "solaris")))]
 use ffi::CString;
@@ -33,9 +32,33 @@ unsafe impl Send for Thread {}
 unsafe impl Sync for Thread {}
 
 impl Thread {
-    pub unsafe fn new<'a>(stack: usize, p: Box<FnBox() + 'a>)
+    pub unsafe fn new<F: FnOnce()>(stack: usize, p: F)
                           -> io::Result<Thread> {
+
+        extern fn thread_start<F: FnOnce()>(main: *mut libc::c_void)
+            -> *mut libc::c_void {
+            unsafe {
+                let main = Box::from_raw(main as *mut F);
+                start_thread(main);
+            }
+            ptr::null_mut()
+        }
+
         let p = box p;
+
+        match Thread::new_inner(stack, &*p as *const _ as *const _, thread_start::<F>) {
+            Ok(thread) => {
+                mem::forget(p); // ownership passed to pthread_create
+                Ok(thread)
+            }
+
+            Err(e) => Err(e),
+        }
+    }
+
+    unsafe fn new_inner(stack: usize, p: *const libc::c_void,
+                        f: extern fn(*mut libc::c_void) -> *mut libc::c_void)
+                        -> io::Result<Thread> {
         let mut native: libc::pthread_t = mem::zeroed();
         let mut attr: libc::pthread_attr_t = mem::zeroed();
         assert_eq!(libc::pthread_attr_init(&mut attr), 0);
@@ -59,20 +82,14 @@ impl Thread {
             }
         };
 
-        let ret = libc::pthread_create(&mut native, &attr, thread_start,
-                                       &*p as *const _ as *mut _);
+        let ret = libc::pthread_create(&mut native, &attr, f,
+                                       p as *mut _);
         assert_eq!(libc::pthread_attr_destroy(&mut attr), 0);
 
-        return if ret != 0 {
+        if ret != 0 {
             Err(io::Error::from_raw_os_error(ret))
         } else {
-            mem::forget(p); // ownership passed to pthread_create
             Ok(Thread { id: native })
-        };
-
-        extern fn thread_start(main: *mut libc::c_void) -> *mut libc::c_void {
-            unsafe { start_thread(main); }
-            ptr::null_mut()
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs b/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs
index b18772c0c2438..ce67b8f1087c7 100644
--- a/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/sys/windows/thread.rs
@@ -25,10 +25,31 @@ pub struct Thread {
 }
 
 impl Thread {
-    pub unsafe fn new<'a>(stack: usize, p: Box<FnBox() + 'a>)
+    pub unsafe fn new<F: FnOnce()>(stack: usize, p: F)
                           -> io::Result<Thread> {
+        extern "system" fn thread_start<F: FnOnce()>(main: *mut c_void)
+            -> c::DWORD {
+            unsafe {
+                let main = Box::from_raw(main as *mut F);
+                start_thread(main);
+            }
+            0
+        }
+
         let p = box p;
 
+        match Thread::new_inner(stack, &*p as *const _ as *const _, thread_start::<F>) {
+            Ok(thread) => {
+                mem::forget(p); // ownership passed to CreateThread
+                Ok(thread)
+            }
+            Err(e) => Err(e),
+        }
+    }
+
+    unsafe fn new_inner(stack: usize, p: *const c_void,
+                 f: extern "system" fn(*mut c_void) -> c::DWORD)
+                 -> io::Result<Thread> {
         // FIXME On UNIX, we guard against stack sizes that are too small but
         // that's because pthreads enforces that stacks are at least
         // PTHREAD_STACK_MIN bytes big.  Windows has no such lower limit, it's
@@ -37,21 +58,15 @@ impl Thread {
         // Round up to the next 64 kB because that's what the NT kernel does,
         // might as well make it explicit.
         let stack_size = (stack + 0xfffe) & (!0xfffe);
-        let ret = c::CreateThread(ptr::null_mut(), stack_size,
-                                  thread_start, &*p as *const _ as *mut _,
+        let ret = c::CreateThread(ptr::null_mut(), stack,
+                                  f, p as *mut _,
                                   0, ptr::null_mut());
 
         return if ret as usize == 0 {
             Err(io::Error::last_os_error())
         } else {
-            mem::forget(p); // ownership passed to CreateThread
             Ok(Thread { handle: Handle::new(ret) })
         };
-
-        extern "system" fn thread_start(main: *mut c_void) -> c::DWORD {
-            unsafe { start_thread(main); }
-            0
-        }
     }
 
     pub fn set_name(_name: &str) {
diff --git a/src/libstd/thread/mod.rs b/src/libstd/thread/mod.rs
index 116cd5da2ce7b..41b65c13c869f 100644
--- a/src/libstd/thread/mod.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/thread/mod.rs
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ impl Builder {
 
         Ok(JoinHandle(JoinInner {
             native: unsafe {
-                Some(try!(imp::Thread::new(stack_size, Box::new(main))))
+                Some(try!(imp::Thread::new(stack_size, main)))
             },
             thread: my_thread,
             packet: Packet(my_packet),