diff --git a/mplayer.c b/mplayer.c
index 0f14fe86b1..061a71620d 100644
--- a/mplayer.c
+++ b/mplayer.c
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ int noconsolecontrols=0;
 //**************************************************************************//
 
 // Not all functions in mplayer.c take the context as an argument yet
-static MPContext *mpctx = &(MPContext){
+static MPContext mpctx_s = {
     .osd_function = OSD_PLAY,
     .begin_skip = MP_NOPTS_VALUE,
     .play_tree_step = 1,
@@ -205,6 +205,8 @@ static MPContext *mpctx = &(MPContext){
 #endif
 };
 
+static MPContext *mpctx = &mpctx_s;
+
 int fixed_vo=0;
 
 // benchmark: