diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 9683c8ab675..c83e9c8a558 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ def build_extension(self, ext):
         cmake_args = [
             "-DCMAKE_LIBRARY_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY=" + os.path.join(extdir, "pywarpx"),
             "-DCMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY=" + extdir,
+            # CMake FindPython.cmake
+            "-DPython_EXECUTABLE=" + sys.executable,
+            # pybind11 FindPythonLibsNew.cmake
+            "-DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=" + sys.executable,
             "-DWarpX_DIMS=" + dims,
             "-DWarpX_APP:BOOL=OFF",
             ## variants