diff --git a/debian/rules.real b/debian/rules.real
index 3a06688..1582bc4 100644
--- a/debian/rules.real
+++ b/debian/rules.real
@@ -8,11 +8,15 @@
 
 include /usr/share/dpkg/default.mk
 
+include debian/rules.defs
+
+COMPILER ?= gcc
+ALL_KERNEL_ARCHES ?= x86
+export COMPILER
+
 MAINTAINER := $(shell sed -ne 's,^Maintainer: .[^<]*<\([^>]*\)>,\1,p' debian/control)
 SOURCE_DATE_UTC_ISO := $(shell date -u -d '@$(SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH)' +%Y-%m-%d)
 
-include debian/rules.defs
-
 ifdef ARCH
   ifneq ($(DEB_HOST_ARCH),$(ARCH))
     $(error Attempting to build a $(ARCH) target but host architecture is $(DEB_HOST_ARCH). Use dpkg-architecture to override the host architecture)