diff --git a/src/dbus_fast/unpack.pxd b/src/dbus_fast/unpack.pxd
index 3f996c3..7ab4670 100644
--- a/src/dbus_fast/unpack.pxd
+++ b/src/dbus_fast/unpack.pxd
@@ -4,3 +4,5 @@ import cython
 
 
 cpdef unpack_variants(object data)
+
+cdef _unpack_variants(object data)
diff --git a/src/dbus_fast/unpack.py b/src/dbus_fast/unpack.py
index ac2a140..d23426d 100644
--- a/src/dbus_fast/unpack.py
+++ b/src/dbus_fast/unpack.py
@@ -5,10 +5,14 @@ from .signature import Variant
 
 def unpack_variants(data: Any) -> Any:
     """Unpack variants and remove signature info."""
-    if isinstance(data, Variant):
-        return unpack_variants(data.value)
+    return _unpack_variants(data)
+
+
+def _unpack_variants(data: Any) -> Any:
     if isinstance(data, dict):
-        return {k: unpack_variants(v) for k, v in data.items()}
+        return {k: _unpack_variants(v) for k, v in data.items()}
     if isinstance(data, list):
-        return [unpack_variants(item) for item in data]
+        return [_unpack_variants(item) for item in data]
+    if isinstance(data, Variant):
+        return _unpack_variants(data.value)
     return data