diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index 1ec394e3..5fee1553 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -33,21 +33,42 @@ use httpresponse::HttpResponse;
 /// `Result`.
 pub type Result<T, E = Error> = result::Result<T, E>;
 
-/// General purpose actix web error
+/// General purpose actix web error.
+///
+/// An actix web error is used to carry errors from `failure` or `std::error` 
+/// through actix in a convenient way.  It can be created through through
+/// converting errors with `into()`.
+///
+/// Whenever it is created from an external object a response error is created
+/// for it that can be used to create an http response from it this means that
+/// if you have access to an actix `Error` you can always get a
+/// `ResponseError` reference from it.
 pub struct Error {
     cause: Box<ResponseError>,
     backtrace: Option<Backtrace>,
 }
 
 impl Error {
-    /// Returns a reference to the underlying cause of this Error.
-    // this should return &Fail but needs this https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/5665
+    /// Deprecated way to reference the underlying response error.
+    #[deprecated(since = "0.6.0", note = "please use `Error::as_response_error()` instead")]
     pub fn cause(&self) -> &ResponseError {
         self.cause.as_ref()
     }
 
+    /// Returns a reference to the underlying cause of this `Error` as `Fail`
+    pub fn as_fail(&self) -> &Fail {
+        self.cause.as_fail()
+    }
+
+    /// Returns the reference to the underlying `ResponseError`.
+    pub fn as_response_error(&self) -> &ResponseError {
+        self.cause.as_ref()
+    }
+
     /// Returns a reference to the Backtrace carried by this error, if it
     /// carries one.
+    ///
+    /// This uses the same `Backtrace` type that `failure` uses.
     pub fn backtrace(&self) -> &Backtrace {
         if let Some(bt) = self.cause.backtrace() {
             bt
@@ -55,10 +76,61 @@ impl Error {
             self.backtrace.as_ref().unwrap()
         }
     }
+
+    /// Attempts to downcast this `Error` to a particular `Fail` type by reference.
+    ///
+    /// If the underlying error is not of type `T`, this will return `None`.
+    pub fn downcast_ref<T: Fail>(&self) -> Option<&T> {
+        // in the most trivial way the cause is directly of the requested type.
+        if let Some(rv) = Fail::downcast_ref(self.cause.as_fail()) {
+            return Some(rv);
+        }
+
+        // in the more complex case the error has been constructed from a failure
+        // error.  This happens because we implement From<failure::Error> by
+        // calling compat() and then storing it here.  In failure this is
+        // represented by a failure::Error being wrapped in a failure::Compat.
+        //
+        // So we first downcast into that compat, to then further downcast through
+        // the failure's Error downcasting system into the original failure.
+        //
+        // This currently requires a transmute.  This could be avoided if failure
+        // provides a deref: https://github.com/rust-lang-nursery/failure/pull/213
+        let compat: Option<&failure::Compat<failure::Error>> = Fail::downcast_ref(self.cause.as_fail());
+        if let Some(compat) = compat {
+            pub struct CompatWrappedError {
+                error: failure::Error,
+            }
+            let compat: &CompatWrappedError = unsafe {
+                ::std::mem::transmute(compat)
+            };
+            compat.error.downcast_ref()
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Helper trait to downcast a response error into a fail.
+///
+/// This is currently not exposed because it's unclear if this is the best way to
+/// achieve the downcasting on `Error` for which this is needed.
+#[doc(hidden)]
+pub trait InternalResponseErrorAsFail {
+    #[doc(hidden)]
+    fn as_fail(&self) -> &Fail;
+    #[doc(hidden)]
+    fn as_mut_fail(&mut self) -> &mut Fail;
+}
+
+#[doc(hidden)]
+impl<T: ResponseError> InternalResponseErrorAsFail for T {
+    fn as_fail(&self) -> &Fail { self }
+    fn as_mut_fail(&mut self) -> &mut Fail { self }
 }
 
 /// Error that can be converted to `HttpResponse`
-pub trait ResponseError: Fail {
+pub trait ResponseError: Fail + InternalResponseErrorAsFail {
     /// Create response for error
     ///
     /// Internal server error is generated by default.
@@ -833,7 +905,7 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn test_cause() {
+    fn test_as_fail() {
         let orig = io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, "other");
         let desc = orig.description().to_owned();
         let e = ParseError::Io(orig);
@@ -851,7 +923,7 @@ mod tests {
         let orig = io::Error::new(io::ErrorKind::Other, "other");
         let desc = orig.description().to_owned();
         let e = Error::from(orig);
-        assert_eq!(format!("{}", e.cause()), desc);
+        assert_eq!(format!("{}", e.as_fail()), desc);
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -950,6 +1022,32 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_error_downcasting_direct() {
+        #[derive(Debug, Fail)]
+        #[fail(display = "demo error")]
+        struct DemoError;
+
+        impl ResponseError for DemoError {}
+
+        let err: Error = DemoError.into();
+        let err_ref: &DemoError = err.downcast_ref().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(err_ref.to_string(), "demo error");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_error_downcasting_compat() {
+        #[derive(Debug, Fail)]
+        #[fail(display = "demo error")]
+        struct DemoError;
+
+        impl ResponseError for DemoError {}
+
+        let err: Error = failure::Error::from(DemoError).into();
+        let err_ref: &DemoError = err.downcast_ref().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(err_ref.to_string(), "demo error");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_error_helpers() {
         let r: HttpResponse = ErrorBadRequest("err").into();
diff --git a/src/httpresponse.rs b/src/httpresponse.rs
index 428ca014..d9c51864 100644
--- a/src/httpresponse.rs
+++ b/src/httpresponse.rs
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ impl HttpResponse {
     /// Constructs a error response
     #[inline]
     pub fn from_error(error: Error) -> HttpResponse {
-        let mut resp = error.cause().error_response();
+        let mut resp = error.as_response_error().error_response();
         resp.get_mut().error = Some(error);
         resp
     }