diff --git a/pex/pex.py b/pex/pex.py
index 02f2d642c..651bfd55c 100644
--- a/pex/pex.py
+++ b/pex/pex.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ def _activate(self):
       pex_info = self._pex_info.copy()
       pex_info.update(self._pex_info_overrides)
       pex_info.merge_pex_path(self._vars.PEX_PATH)
-      self._envs.append(PEXEnvironment(self._pex, pex_info))
+      self._envs.append(PEXEnvironment(self._pex, pex_info, interpreter=self._interpreter))
       # N.B. by this point, `pex_info.pex_path` will contain a single pex path
       # merged from pex_path in `PEX-INFO` and `PEX_PATH` set in the environment.
       # `PEX_PATH` entries written into `PEX-INFO` take precedence over those set
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def _activate(self):
         for pex_path in filter(None, pex_info.pex_path.split(os.pathsep)):
           pex_info = PexInfo.from_pex(pex_path)
           pex_info.update(self._pex_info_overrides)
-          self._envs.append(PEXEnvironment(pex_path, pex_info))
+          self._envs.append(PEXEnvironment(pex_path, pex_info, interpreter=self._interpreter))
 
       # activate all of them
       for env in self._envs:
diff --git a/pex/testing.py b/pex/testing.py
index 35198414b..6a44539a5 100644
--- a/pex/testing.py
+++ b/pex/testing.py
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ def write_zipfile(directory, dest, reverse=False):
 
 @contextlib.contextmanager
 def make_installer(name='my_project', version='0.0.0', installer_impl=EggInstaller, zip_safe=True,
-                   install_reqs=None):
+                   install_reqs=None, **kwargs):
   interp = {'project_name': name,
             'version': version,
             'zip_safe': zip_safe,
             'install_requires': install_reqs or []}
   with temporary_content(PROJECT_CONTENT, interp=interp) as td:
-    yield installer_impl(td)
+    yield installer_impl(td, **kwargs)
 
 
 @contextlib.contextmanager
diff --git a/tests/test_pex.py b/tests/test_pex.py
index ac3d2017b..160d80086 100644
--- a/tests/test_pex.py
+++ b/tests/test_pex.py
@@ -10,11 +10,14 @@
 import pytest
 from twitter.common.contextutil import temporary_file
 
-from pex.compatibility import WINDOWS, nested, to_bytes
+from pex.bin.pex import get_interpreter
+from pex.compatibility import PY2, WINDOWS, nested, to_bytes
 from pex.installer import EggInstaller, WheelInstaller
 from pex.pex import PEX
 from pex.pex_builder import PEXBuilder
 from pex.testing import (
+    IS_PYPY,
+    ensure_python_interpreter,
     make_installer,
     named_temporary_file,
     run_simple_pex_test,
@@ -309,3 +312,29 @@ def test_pex_verify_entry_point_module_should_fail():
       PEX(pex_builder.path(),
           interpreter=pex_builder.interpreter,
           verify_entry_point=True)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(IS_PYPY)
+def test_activate_interpreter_different_from_current():
+  with temporary_dir() as interpreter_cache:
+    interp_version = '3.6.3' if PY2 else '2.7.10'
+    custom_interpreter = get_interpreter(
+      python_interpreter=ensure_python_interpreter(interp_version),
+      interpreter_cache_dir=interpreter_cache,
+      repos=None,  # Default to PyPI.
+      use_wheel=True
+    )
+    with make_installer(installer_impl=WheelInstaller,
+                        interpreter=custom_interpreter) as installer:
+      with temporary_dir() as chroot:
+        pex_builder = PEXBuilder(path=chroot, interpreter=custom_interpreter)
+        bdist = installer.bdist()
+        pex_builder.add_dist_location(bdist)
+        pex_builder.set_entry_point('sys:exit')
+        pex_builder.freeze()
+
+        pex = PEX(pex_builder.path(), interpreter=custom_interpreter)
+        try:
+          pex._activate()
+        except SystemExit as e:
+          pytest.fail('PEX activation of %s failed with %s' % (pex, e))