diff --git a/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go b/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go
index 1b330643c24..aa8a3cb22f1 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go
@@ -291,12 +291,12 @@ func (r RealPodControl) createPods(nodeName, namespace string, template *api.Pod
 			GenerateName: prefix,
 		},
 	}
-	if len(nodeName) != 0 {
-		pod.Spec.NodeName = nodeName
-	}
 	if err := api.Scheme.Convert(&template.Spec, &pod.Spec); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unable to convert pod template: %v", err)
 	}
+	if len(nodeName) != 0 {
+		pod.Spec.NodeName = nodeName
+	}
 	if labels.Set(pod.Labels).AsSelector().Empty() {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create pods, no labels")
 	}