 <blockquote> <p>I am trying to obtain a handle on one of the views in the Action Bar</p> </blockquote> <p>I will assume that you mean something established via <code>android:actionLayout</code> in your <code>&lt;item&gt;</code> element of your <code>&lt;menu&gt;</code> resource.</p> <blockquote> <p>I have tried calling findViewById(R.id.menu_item)</p> </blockquote> <p>To retrieve the <code>View</code> associated with your <code>android:actionLayout</code>, call <code>findItem()</code> on the <code>Menu</code> to retrieve the <code>MenuItem</code>, then call <code>getActionView()</code> on the <code>MenuItem</code>. This can be done any time after you have inflated the menu resource.</p>