diff --git a/render.c b/render.c
index 32f5669c..c59723a2 100644
--- a/render.c
+++ b/render.c
@@ -403,9 +403,10 @@ render_cell(struct terminal *term, pixman_image_t *pix,
     }
 
     struct fcft_font *font = attrs_to_font(term, &cell->attrs);
-    const struct fcft_glyph *glyph = cell->wc != 0
-        ? fcft_glyph_rasterize(font, cell->wc, term->font_subpixel)
-        : NULL;
+    const struct fcft_glyph *glyph = NULL;
+
+    if (cell->wc != 0)
+        glyph = fcft_glyph_rasterize(font, cell->wc, term->font_subpixel);
 
     int cell_cols = glyph != NULL ? max(1, glyph->cols) : 1;