diff --git a/rest_framework/generics.py b/rest_framework/generics.py
index 8d0bf284a..4c73dbc70 100644
--- a/rest_framework/generics.py
+++ b/rest_framework/generics.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ class GenericAPIView(views.APIView):
             queryset = queryset.all()
         return queryset
 
-    def get_object(self):
+    def get_object(self, queryset=None):
         """
         Returns the object the view is displaying.
 
@@ -82,7 +82,10 @@ class GenericAPIView(views.APIView):
         queryset lookups.  Eg if objects are referenced using multiple
         keyword arguments in the url conf.
         """
-        queryset = self.filter_queryset(self.get_queryset())
+        if queryset is not None:
+            queryset = self.filter_queryset(queryset)
+        else:
+            queryset = self.filter_queryset(self.get_queryset())
 
         # Perform the lookup filtering.
         lookup_url_kwarg = self.lookup_url_kwarg or self.lookup_field