diff --git a/djangorestframework/views.py b/djangorestframework/views.py
index 4aa6ca0cd..611723c55 100644
--- a/djangorestframework/views.py
+++ b/djangorestframework/views.py
@@ -220,8 +220,9 @@ class View(ResourceMixin, RequestMixin, ResponseMixin, AuthMixin, DjangoView):
             self._check_permissions()
 
             # Get the appropriate handler method
-            if self.method.lower() in self.http_method_names:
-                handler = getattr(self, self.method.lower(), self.http_method_not_allowed)
+            method_name = self.method.lower()
+            if method_name in self.http_method_names:
+                handler = getattr(self, method_name, self.http_method_not_allowed)
             else:
                 handler = self.http_method_not_allowed