diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/layout.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/layout.rb
index 104079efe1..e7e8d3b834 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_controller/layout.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_controller/layout.rb
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ module ActionController #:nodoc:
 
     private
       def pick_layout(options = {}, deprecated_layout = nil)
-        return deprecated_layout unless deprecated_layout.nil?
+        return deprecated_layout if !deprecated_layout.nil? || (options.is_a?(Hash) && options[:nothing])
 
         if options.is_a?(Hash)
           case options[:layout]