diff --git a/pkg/builder/controller.go b/pkg/builder/controller.go
index 2663398fd8..047fc6d410 100644
--- a/pkg/builder/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/builder/controller.go
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/go-logr/logr"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client/apiutil"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/handler"
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func ControllerManagedBy(m manager.Manager) *Builder {
 
 // ForInput represents the information set by For method.
 type ForInput struct {
-	object     runtime.Object
+	object     client.Object
 	predicates []predicate.Predicate
 	err        error
 }
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ type ForInput struct {
 // update events by *reconciling the object*.
 // This is the equivalent of calling
 // Watches(&source.Kind{Type: apiType}, &handler.EnqueueRequestForObject{})
-func (blder *Builder) For(object runtime.Object, opts ...ForOption) *Builder {
+func (blder *Builder) For(object client.Object, opts ...ForOption) *Builder {
 	if blder.forInput.object != nil {
 		blder.forInput.err = fmt.Errorf("For(...) should only be called once, could not assign multiple objects for reconciliation")
 		return blder
@@ -82,14 +82,14 @@ func (blder *Builder) For(object runtime.Object, opts ...ForOption) *Builder {
 
 // OwnsInput represents the information set by Owns method.
 type OwnsInput struct {
-	object     runtime.Object
+	object     client.Object
 	predicates []predicate.Predicate
 }
 
 // Owns defines types of Objects being *generated* by the ControllerManagedBy, and configures the ControllerManagedBy to respond to
 // create / delete / update events by *reconciling the owner object*.  This is the equivalent of calling
 // Watches(&source.Kind{Type: <ForType-forInput>}, &handler.EnqueueRequestForOwner{OwnerType: apiType, IsController: true})
-func (blder *Builder) Owns(object runtime.Object, opts ...OwnsOption) *Builder {
+func (blder *Builder) Owns(object client.Object, opts ...OwnsOption) *Builder {
 	input := OwnsInput{object: object}
 	for _, opt := range opts {
 		opt.ApplyToOwns(&input)
diff --git a/pkg/builder/controller_test.go b/pkg/builder/controller_test.go
index 2b6a49789f..057efa4a36 100644
--- a/pkg/builder/controller_test.go
+++ b/pkg/builder/controller_test.go
@@ -458,7 +458,10 @@ func doReconcileTest(nameSuffix string, stop chan struct{}, blder *Builder, mgr
 
 var _ runtime.Object = &fakeType{}
 
-type fakeType struct{}
+type fakeType struct {
+	metav1.TypeMeta
+	metav1.ObjectMeta
+}
 
 func (*fakeType) GetObjectKind() schema.ObjectKind { return nil }
 func (*fakeType) DeepCopyObject() runtime.Object   { return nil }
diff --git a/pkg/builder/webhook_test.go b/pkg/builder/webhook_test.go
index 102d9f6d7b..4ccca4f1eb 100644
--- a/pkg/builder/webhook_test.go
+++ b/pkg/builder/webhook_test.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import (
 
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller"
@@ -465,6 +466,9 @@ func (v *TestValidator) ValidateDelete() error {
 var _ runtime.Object = &TestDefaultValidator{}
 
 type TestDefaultValidator struct {
+	metav1.TypeMeta
+	metav1.ObjectMeta
+
 	Replica int `json:"replica,omitempty"`
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/cache/cache.go b/pkg/cache/cache.go
index 3fcef4f592..71dfbd0454 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/cache.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/cache.go
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ type Cache interface {
 type Informers interface {
 	// GetInformer fetches or constructs an informer for the given object that corresponds to a single
 	// API kind and resource.
-	GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object) (Informer, error)
+	GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object) (Informer, error)
 
 	// GetInformerForKind is similar to GetInformer, except that it takes a group-version-kind, instead
 	// of the underlying object.
diff --git a/pkg/cache/cache_test.go b/pkg/cache/cache_test.go
index bdcf458c16..2da27eb7ec 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/cache_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/cache_test.go
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
 	kmetav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	kscheme "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ const testNamespaceThree = "test-namespace-3"
 
 // TODO(community): Pull these helper functions into testenv.
 // Restart policy is included to allow indexing on that field.
-func createPod(name, namespace string, restartPolicy kcorev1.RestartPolicy) runtime.Object {
+func createPod(name, namespace string, restartPolicy kcorev1.RestartPolicy) client.Object {
 	three := int64(3)
 	pod := &kcorev1.Pod{
 		ObjectMeta: kmetav1.ObjectMeta{
@@ -65,7 +64,7 @@ func createPod(name, namespace string, restartPolicy kcorev1.RestartPolicy) runt
 	return pod
 }
 
-func deletePod(pod runtime.Object) {
+func deletePod(pod client.Object) {
 	cl, err := client.New(cfg, client.Options{})
 	Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	err = cl.Delete(context.Background(), pod)
@@ -86,10 +85,10 @@ func CacheTest(createCacheFunc func(config *rest.Config, opts cache.Options) (ca
 			informerCache       cache.Cache
 			informerCacheCtx    context.Context
 			informerCacheCancel context.CancelFunc
-			knownPod1           runtime.Object
-			knownPod2           runtime.Object
-			knownPod3           runtime.Object
-			knownPod4           runtime.Object
+			knownPod1           client.Object
+			knownPod2           client.Object
+			knownPod3           client.Object
+			knownPod4           client.Object
 		)
 
 		BeforeEach(func() {
@@ -566,7 +565,7 @@ func CacheTest(createCacheFunc func(config *rest.Config, opts cache.Options) (ca
 
 					By("indexing the restartPolicy field of the Pod object before starting")
 					pod := &kcorev1.Pod{}
-					indexFunc := func(obj runtime.Object) []string {
+					indexFunc := func(obj client.Object) []string {
 						return []string{string(obj.(*kcorev1.Pod).Spec.RestartPolicy)}
 					}
 					Expect(informer.IndexField(context.TODO(), pod, "spec.restartPolicy", indexFunc)).To(Succeed())
@@ -684,7 +683,7 @@ func CacheTest(createCacheFunc func(config *rest.Config, opts cache.Options) (ca
 						Version: "v1",
 						Kind:    "Pod",
 					})
-					indexFunc := func(obj runtime.Object) []string {
+					indexFunc := func(obj client.Object) []string {
 						s, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured).Object["spec"]
 						if !ok {
 							return []string{}
diff --git a/pkg/cache/informer_cache.go b/pkg/cache/informer_cache.go
index 043c295f0a..8ec3b921d9 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/informer_cache.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/informer_cache.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ type informerCache struct {
 }
 
 // Get implements Reader
-func (ip *informerCache) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, out runtime.Object) error {
+func (ip *informerCache) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, out client.Object) error {
 	gvk, err := apiutil.GVKForObject(out, ip.Scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func (ip *informerCache) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, out runt
 }
 
 // List implements Reader
-func (ip *informerCache) List(ctx context.Context, out runtime.Object, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
+func (ip *informerCache) List(ctx context.Context, out client.ObjectList, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
 
 	gvk, cacheTypeObj, err := ip.objectTypeForListObject(out)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func (ip *informerCache) List(ctx context.Context, out runtime.Object, opts ...c
 // objectTypeForListObject tries to find the runtime.Object and associated GVK
 // for a single object corresponding to the passed-in list type. We need them
 // because they are used as cache map key.
-func (ip *informerCache) objectTypeForListObject(list runtime.Object) (*schema.GroupVersionKind, runtime.Object, error) {
+func (ip *informerCache) objectTypeForListObject(list client.ObjectList) (*schema.GroupVersionKind, runtime.Object, error) {
 	gvk, err := apiutil.GVKForObject(list, ip.Scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, err
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ func (ip *informerCache) GetInformerForKind(ctx context.Context, gvk schema.Grou
 }
 
 // GetInformer returns the informer for the obj
-func (ip *informerCache) GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object) (Informer, error) {
+func (ip *informerCache) GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object) (Informer, error) {
 	gvk, err := apiutil.GVKForObject(obj, ip.Scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ func (ip *informerCache) NeedLeaderElection() bool {
 // to List. For one-to-one compatibility with "normal" field selectors, only return one value.
 // The values may be anything.  They will automatically be prefixed with the namespace of the
 // given object, if present.  The objects passed are guaranteed to be objects of the correct type.
-func (ip *informerCache) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, field string, extractValue client.IndexerFunc) error {
+func (ip *informerCache) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, field string, extractValue client.IndexerFunc) error {
 	informer, err := ip.GetInformer(ctx, obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ func (ip *informerCache) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, fie
 func indexByField(indexer Informer, field string, extractor client.IndexerFunc) error {
 	indexFunc := func(objRaw interface{}) ([]string, error) {
 		// TODO(directxman12): check if this is the correct type?
-		obj, isObj := objRaw.(runtime.Object)
+		obj, isObj := objRaw.(client.Object)
 		if !isObj {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("object of type %T is not an Object", objRaw)
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/cache/informer_cache_unit_test.go b/pkg/cache/informer_cache_unit_test.go
index 4728143eee..f4ddda0cd8 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/informer_cache_unit_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/informer_cache_unit_test.go
@@ -25,12 +25,6 @@ var _ = Describe("ip.objectTypeForListObject", func() {
 		InformersMap: &internal.InformersMap{Scheme: scheme.Scheme},
 	}
 
-	It("should error on non-list types", func() {
-		_, _, err := ip.objectTypeForListObject(&corev1.Pod{})
-		Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
-		Expect(err.Error()).To(Equal(`non-list type *v1.Pod (kind "/v1, Kind=Pod") passed as output`))
-	})
-
 	It("should find the object type for unstructured lists", func() {
 		unstructuredList := &unstructured.UnstructuredList{}
 		unstructuredList.SetAPIVersion("v1")
diff --git a/pkg/cache/informertest/fake_cache.go b/pkg/cache/informertest/fake_cache.go
index 4e7bb5bc7f..eb78e0bb65 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/informertest/fake_cache.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/informertest/fake_cache.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func (c *FakeInformers) FakeInformerForKind(ctx context.Context, gvk schema.Grou
 }
 
 // GetInformer implements Informers
-func (c *FakeInformers) GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object) (cache.Informer, error) {
+func (c *FakeInformers) GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object) (cache.Informer, error) {
 	if c.Scheme == nil {
 		c.Scheme = scheme.Scheme
 	}
@@ -126,16 +126,16 @@ func (c *FakeInformers) Start(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 // IndexField implements Cache
-func (c *FakeInformers) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, field string, extractValue client.IndexerFunc) error {
+func (c *FakeInformers) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, field string, extractValue client.IndexerFunc) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
 // Get implements Cache
-func (c *FakeInformers) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *FakeInformers) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj client.Object) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
 // List implements Cache
-func (c *FakeInformers) List(ctx context.Context, list runtime.Object, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
+func (c *FakeInformers) List(ctx context.Context, list client.ObjectList, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/cache/internal/cache_reader.go b/pkg/cache/internal/cache_reader.go
index 5c3fac9228..630a4b131e 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/internal/cache_reader.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/internal/cache_reader.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ type CacheReader struct {
 }
 
 // Get checks the indexer for the object and writes a copy of it if found
-func (c *CacheReader) Get(_ context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, out runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *CacheReader) Get(_ context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, out client.Object) error {
 	storeKey := objectKeyToStoreKey(key)
 
 	// Lookup the object from the indexer cache
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func (c *CacheReader) Get(_ context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, out runtime.O
 }
 
 // List lists items out of the indexer and writes them to out
-func (c *CacheReader) List(_ context.Context, out runtime.Object, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
+func (c *CacheReader) List(_ context.Context, out client.ObjectList, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
 	var objs []interface{}
 	var err error
 
diff --git a/pkg/cache/multi_namespace_cache.go b/pkg/cache/multi_namespace_cache.go
index ec5dd1fe5b..f0e18c09b0 100644
--- a/pkg/cache/multi_namespace_cache.go
+++ b/pkg/cache/multi_namespace_cache.go
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ type multiNamespaceCache struct {
 var _ Cache = &multiNamespaceCache{}
 
 // Methods for multiNamespaceCache to conform to the Informers interface
-func (c *multiNamespaceCache) GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object) (Informer, error) {
+func (c *multiNamespaceCache) GetInformer(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object) (Informer, error) {
 	informers := map[string]Informer{}
 	for ns, cache := range c.namespaceToCache {
 		informer, err := cache.GetInformer(ctx, obj)
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ func (c *multiNamespaceCache) WaitForCacheSync(ctx context.Context) bool {
 	return synced
 }
 
-func (c *multiNamespaceCache) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, field string, extractValue client.IndexerFunc) error {
+func (c *multiNamespaceCache) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, field string, extractValue client.IndexerFunc) error {
 	for _, cache := range c.namespaceToCache {
 		if err := cache.IndexField(ctx, obj, field, extractValue); err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ func (c *multiNamespaceCache) IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (c *multiNamespaceCache) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *multiNamespaceCache) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj client.Object) error {
 	cache, ok := c.namespaceToCache[key.Namespace]
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unable to get: %v because of unknown namespace for the cache", key)
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ func (c *multiNamespaceCache) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj
 }
 
 // List multi namespace cache will get all the objects in the namespaces that the cache is watching if asked for all namespaces.
-func (c *multiNamespaceCache) List(ctx context.Context, list runtime.Object, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
+func (c *multiNamespaceCache) List(ctx context.Context, list client.ObjectList, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
 	listOpts := client.ListOptions{}
 	listOpts.ApplyOptions(opts)
 	if listOpts.Namespace != corev1.NamespaceAll {
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ func (c *multiNamespaceCache) List(ctx context.Context, list runtime.Object, opt
 	}
 	var resourceVersion string
 	for _, cache := range c.namespaceToCache {
-		listObj := list.DeepCopyObject()
+		listObj := list.DeepCopyObject().(client.ObjectList)
 		err = cache.List(ctx, listObj, opts...)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/pkg/client/client.go b/pkg/client/client.go
index ba4efce513..bd6d6a40f6 100644
--- a/pkg/client/client.go
+++ b/pkg/client/client.go
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func (c *client) RESTMapper() meta.RESTMapper {
 }
 
 // Create implements client.Client
-func (c *client) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
+func (c *client) Create(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
 		return c.unstructuredClient.Create(ctx, obj, opts...)
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func (c *client) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...CreateO
 }
 
 // Update implements client.Client
-func (c *client) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (c *client) Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	defer c.resetGroupVersionKind(obj, obj.GetObjectKind().GroupVersionKind())
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ func (c *client) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateO
 }
 
 // Delete implements client.Client
-func (c *client) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
+func (c *client) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
 		return c.unstructuredClient.Delete(ctx, obj, opts...)
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ func (c *client) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteO
 }
 
 // DeleteAllOf implements client.Client
-func (c *client) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
+func (c *client) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
 		return c.unstructuredClient.DeleteAllOf(ctx, obj, opts...)
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ func (c *client) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...De
 }
 
 // Patch implements client.Client
-func (c *client) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (c *client) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	defer c.resetGroupVersionKind(obj, obj.GetObjectKind().GroupVersionKind())
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ func (c *client) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opt
 }
 
 // Get implements client.Client
-func (c *client) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *client) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj Object) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
 		return c.unstructuredClient.Get(ctx, key, obj)
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ func (c *client) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) err
 }
 
 // List implements client.Client
-func (c *client) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...ListOption) error {
+func (c *client) List(ctx context.Context, obj ObjectList, opts ...ListOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.UnstructuredList)
 	if ok {
 		return c.unstructuredClient.List(ctx, obj, opts...)
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ type statusWriter struct {
 var _ StatusWriter = &statusWriter{}
 
 // Update implements client.StatusWriter
-func (sw *statusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (sw *statusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	defer sw.client.resetGroupVersionKind(obj, obj.GetObjectKind().GroupVersionKind())
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ func (sw *statusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...
 }
 
 // Patch implements client.Client
-func (sw *statusWriter) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (sw *statusWriter) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	defer sw.client.resetGroupVersionKind(obj, obj.GetObjectKind().GroupVersionKind())
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if ok {
diff --git a/pkg/client/client_test.go b/pkg/client/client_test.go
index 1a5fc58c0c..99a491509a 100644
--- a/pkg/client/client_test.go
+++ b/pkg/client/client_test.go
@@ -2815,12 +2815,12 @@ type fakeReader struct {
 	Called int
 }
 
-func (f *fakeReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (f *fakeReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj client.Object) error {
 	f.Called = f.Called + 1
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *fakeReader) List(ctx context.Context, list runtime.Object, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
+func (f *fakeReader) List(ctx context.Context, list client.ObjectList, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
 	f.Called = f.Called + 1
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/client/dryrun.go b/pkg/client/dryrun.go
index 187f0fe1eb..67e80e0551 100644
--- a/pkg/client/dryrun.go
+++ b/pkg/client/dryrun.go
@@ -47,37 +47,37 @@ func (c *dryRunClient) RESTMapper() meta.RESTMapper {
 }
 
 // Create implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
 	return c.client.Create(ctx, obj, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
 
 // Update implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	return c.client.Update(ctx, obj, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
 
 // Delete implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
 	return c.client.Delete(ctx, obj, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
 
 // DeleteAllOf implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
 	return c.client.DeleteAllOf(ctx, obj, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
 
 // Patch implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	return c.client.Patch(ctx, obj, patch, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
 
 // Get implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj Object) error {
 	return c.client.Get(ctx, key, obj)
 }
 
 // List implements client.Client
-func (c *dryRunClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...ListOption) error {
+func (c *dryRunClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj ObjectList, opts ...ListOption) error {
 	return c.client.List(ctx, obj, opts...)
 }
 
@@ -96,11 +96,11 @@ type dryRunStatusWriter struct {
 }
 
 // Update implements client.StatusWriter
-func (sw *dryRunStatusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (sw *dryRunStatusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	return sw.client.Update(ctx, obj, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
 
 // Patch implements client.StatusWriter
-func (sw *dryRunStatusWriter) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (sw *dryRunStatusWriter) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	return sw.client.Patch(ctx, obj, patch, append(opts, DryRunAll)...)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/client/example_test.go b/pkg/client/example_test.go
index 345bf28a24..1be098bbbb 100644
--- a/pkg/client/example_test.go
+++ b/pkg/client/example_test.go
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ import (
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
 
@@ -238,7 +237,7 @@ func ExampleClient_deleteAllOf() {
 	_ = c.DeleteAllOf(context.Background(), &corev1.Pod{}, client.InNamespace("foo"), client.MatchingLabels{"app": "foo"})
 
 	// Using an unstructured Object
-	u := &unstructured.UnstructuredList{}
+	u := &unstructured.Unstructured{}
 	u.SetGroupVersionKind(schema.GroupVersionKind{
 		Group:   "apps",
 		Kind:    "Deployment",
@@ -250,7 +249,7 @@ func ExampleClient_deleteAllOf() {
 // This example shows how to set up and consume a field selector over a pod's volumes' secretName field.
 func ExampleFieldIndexer_secretName() {
 	// someIndexer is a FieldIndexer over a Cache
-	_ = someIndexer.IndexField(context.TODO(), &corev1.Pod{}, "spec.volumes.secret.secretName", func(o runtime.Object) []string {
+	_ = someIndexer.IndexField(context.TODO(), &corev1.Pod{}, "spec.volumes.secret.secretName", func(o client.Object) []string {
 		var res []string
 		for _, vol := range o.(*corev1.Pod).Spec.Volumes {
 			if vol.Secret == nil {
diff --git a/pkg/client/fake/client.go b/pkg/client/fake/client.go
index 2292843e56..e4f286e733 100644
--- a/pkg/client/fake/client.go
+++ b/pkg/client/fake/client.go
@@ -58,14 +58,14 @@ const (
 
 // NewFakeClient creates a new fake client for testing.
 // You can choose to initialize it with a slice of runtime.Object.
-func NewFakeClient(initObjs ...runtime.Object) client.Client {
+func NewFakeClient(initObjs ...client.Object) client.Client {
 	return NewFakeClientWithScheme(scheme.Scheme, initObjs...)
 }
 
 // NewFakeClientWithScheme creates a new fake client with the given scheme
 // for testing.
 // You can choose to initialize it with a slice of runtime.Object.
-func NewFakeClientWithScheme(clientScheme *runtime.Scheme, initObjs ...runtime.Object) client.Client {
+func NewFakeClientWithScheme(clientScheme *runtime.Scheme, initObjs ...client.Object) client.Client {
 	tracker := testing.NewObjectTracker(clientScheme, scheme.Codecs.UniversalDecoder())
 	for _, obj := range initObjs {
 		err := tracker.Add(obj)
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ func (t versionedTracker) Update(gvr schema.GroupVersionResource, obj runtime.Ob
 	return t.ObjectTracker.Update(gvr, obj, ns)
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj client.Object) error {
 	gvr, err := getGVRFromObject(obj, c.scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ func (c *fakeClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, obj runtime.
 	return err
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj client.ObjectList, opts ...client.ListOption) error {
 	gvk, err := apiutil.GVKForObject(obj, c.scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ func (c *fakeClient) RESTMapper() meta.RESTMapper {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...client.CreateOption) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, opts ...client.CreateOption) error {
 	createOptions := &client.CreateOptions{}
 	createOptions.ApplyOptions(opts)
 
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ func (c *fakeClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...cli
 	return c.tracker.Create(gvr, obj, accessor.GetNamespace())
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...client.DeleteOption) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, opts ...client.DeleteOption) error {
 	gvr, err := getGVRFromObject(obj, c.scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ func (c *fakeClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...cli
 	return c.tracker.Delete(gvr, accessor.GetNamespace(), accessor.GetName())
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...client.DeleteAllOfOption) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, opts ...client.DeleteAllOfOption) error {
 	gvk, err := apiutil.GVKForObject(obj, c.scheme)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ func (c *fakeClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts .
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...client.UpdateOption) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, opts ...client.UpdateOption) error {
 	updateOptions := &client.UpdateOptions{}
 	updateOptions.ApplyOptions(opts)
 
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ func (c *fakeClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...cli
 	return c.tracker.Update(gvr, obj, accessor.GetNamespace())
 }
 
-func (c *fakeClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch client.Patch, opts ...client.PatchOption) error {
+func (c *fakeClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, patch client.Patch, opts ...client.PatchOption) error {
 	patchOptions := &client.PatchOptions{}
 	patchOptions.ApplyOptions(opts)
 
@@ -417,13 +417,13 @@ type fakeStatusWriter struct {
 	client *fakeClient
 }
 
-func (sw *fakeStatusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...client.UpdateOption) error {
+func (sw *fakeStatusWriter) Update(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, opts ...client.UpdateOption) error {
 	// TODO(droot): This results in full update of the obj (spec + status). Need
 	// a way to update status field only.
 	return sw.client.Update(ctx, obj, opts...)
 }
 
-func (sw *fakeStatusWriter) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch client.Patch, opts ...client.PatchOption) error {
+func (sw *fakeStatusWriter) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, patch client.Patch, opts ...client.PatchOption) error {
 	// TODO(droot): This results in full update of the obj (spec + status). Need
 	// a way to update status field only.
 	return sw.client.Patch(ctx, obj, patch, opts...)
diff --git a/pkg/client/interfaces.go b/pkg/client/interfaces.go
index e83a89381c..cb4c8db2b7 100644
--- a/pkg/client/interfaces.go
+++ b/pkg/client/interfaces.go
@@ -53,32 +53,32 @@ type Reader interface {
 	// Get retrieves an obj for the given object key from the Kubernetes Cluster.
 	// obj must be a struct pointer so that obj can be updated with the response
 	// returned by the Server.
-	Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error
+	Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj Object) error
 
 	// List retrieves list of objects for a given namespace and list options. On a
 	// successful call, Items field in the list will be populated with the
 	// result returned from the server.
-	List(ctx context.Context, list runtime.Object, opts ...ListOption) error
+	List(ctx context.Context, list ObjectList, opts ...ListOption) error
 }
 
 // Writer knows how to create, delete, and update Kubernetes objects.
 type Writer interface {
 	// Create saves the object obj in the Kubernetes cluster.
-	Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...CreateOption) error
+	Create(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...CreateOption) error
 
 	// Delete deletes the given obj from Kubernetes cluster.
-	Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error
+	Delete(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error
 
 	// Update updates the given obj in the Kubernetes cluster. obj must be a
 	// struct pointer so that obj can be updated with the content returned by the Server.
-	Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error
+	Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error
 
 	// Patch patches the given obj in the Kubernetes cluster. obj must be a
 	// struct pointer so that obj can be updated with the content returned by the Server.
-	Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error
+	Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error
 
 	// DeleteAllOf deletes all objects of the given type matching the given options.
-	DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error
+	DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error
 }
 
 // StatusClient knows how to create a client which can update status subresource
@@ -92,12 +92,12 @@ type StatusWriter interface {
 	// Update updates the fields corresponding to the status subresource for the
 	// given obj. obj must be a struct pointer so that obj can be updated
 	// with the content returned by the Server.
-	Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error
+	Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error
 
 	// Patch patches the given object's subresource. obj must be a struct
 	// pointer so that obj can be updated with the content returned by the
 	// Server.
-	Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error
+	Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error
 }
 
 // Client knows how to perform CRUD operations on Kubernetes objects.
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ type Client interface {
 // IndexerFunc knows how to take an object and turn it into a series
 // of non-namespaced keys. Namespaced objects are automatically given
 // namespaced and non-spaced variants, so keys do not need to include namespace.
-type IndexerFunc func(runtime.Object) []string
+type IndexerFunc func(Object) []string
 
 // FieldIndexer knows how to index over a particular "field" such that it
 // can later be used by a field selector.
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ type FieldIndexer interface {
 	// and "equality" in the field selector means that at least one key matches the value.
 	// The FieldIndexer will automatically take care of indexing over namespace
 	// and supporting efficient all-namespace queries.
-	IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, field string, extractValue IndexerFunc) error
+	IndexField(ctx context.Context, obj Object, field string, extractValue IndexerFunc) error
 }
 
 // IgnoreNotFound returns nil on NotFound errors.
diff --git a/pkg/client/object.go b/pkg/client/object.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9b2e97f668
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/client/object.go
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2020 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package client
+
+import (
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
+)
+
+// Object is a Kubernetes object, allows functions to work indistinctly with any resource that
+// implements both Object interfaces.
+type Object interface {
+	metav1.Object
+	runtime.Object
+}
+
+// ObjectList is a Kubernetes object list, allows functions to work indistinctly with any resource that
+// implements both runtime.Object and metav1.ListInterface interfaces.
+type ObjectList interface {
+	metav1.ListInterface
+	runtime.Object
+}
diff --git a/pkg/client/split.go b/pkg/client/split.go
index 2bd086d1c4..00f84ccb84 100644
--- a/pkg/client/split.go
+++ b/pkg/client/split.go
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ type delegatingReader struct {
 }
 
 // Get retrieves an obj for a given object key from the Kubernetes Cluster.
-func (d *delegatingReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (d *delegatingReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj Object) error {
 	_, isUnstructured := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if isUnstructured {
 		return d.ClientReader.Get(ctx, key, obj)
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func (d *delegatingReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.O
 }
 
 // List retrieves list of objects for a given namespace and list options.
-func (d *delegatingReader) List(ctx context.Context, list runtime.Object, opts ...ListOption) error {
+func (d *delegatingReader) List(ctx context.Context, list ObjectList, opts ...ListOption) error {
 	_, isUnstructured := list.(*unstructured.UnstructuredList)
 	if isUnstructured {
 		return d.ClientReader.List(ctx, list, opts...)
diff --git a/pkg/client/typed_client.go b/pkg/client/typed_client.go
index d65f04fe9b..a1b32653ca 100644
--- a/pkg/client/typed_client.go
+++ b/pkg/client/typed_client.go
@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 )
 
+var _ Reader = &typedClient{}
+var _ Writer = &typedClient{}
+var _ StatusWriter = &typedClient{}
+
 // client is a client.Client that reads and writes directly from/to an API server.  It lazily initializes
 // new clients at the time they are used, and caches the client.
 type typedClient struct {
@@ -30,7 +34,7 @@ type typedClient struct {
 }
 
 // Create implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -48,7 +52,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...Cr
 }
 
 // Update implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...Up
 }
 
 // Delete implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -86,7 +90,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...De
 }
 
 // DeleteAllOf implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -105,7 +109,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts
 }
 
 // Patch implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -128,7 +132,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch
 }
 
 // Get implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (c *typedClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj Object) error {
 	r, err := c.cache.getResource(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -140,7 +144,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object
 }
 
 // List implements client.Client
-func (c *typedClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...ListOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj ObjectList, opts ...ListOption) error {
 	r, err := c.cache.getResource(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -156,7 +160,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...List
 }
 
 // UpdateStatus used by StatusWriter to write status.
-func (c *typedClient) UpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) UpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -177,7 +181,7 @@ func (c *typedClient) UpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts
 }
 
 // PatchStatus used by StatusWriter to write status.
-func (c *typedClient) PatchStatus(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (c *typedClient) PatchStatus(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	o, err := c.cache.getObjMeta(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/pkg/client/unstructured_client.go b/pkg/client/unstructured_client.go
index 5613791b9f..f8fb3ccec1 100644
--- a/pkg/client/unstructured_client.go
+++ b/pkg/client/unstructured_client.go
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 )
 
+var _ Reader = &unstructuredClient{}
+var _ Writer = &unstructuredClient{}
+var _ StatusWriter = &unstructuredClient{}
+
 // client is a client.Client that reads and writes directly from/to an API server.  It lazily initializes
 // new clients at the time they are used, and caches the client.
 type unstructuredClient struct {
@@ -33,7 +37,7 @@ type unstructuredClient struct {
 }
 
 // Create implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...CreateOption) error {
 	u, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -61,7 +65,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) Create(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, op
 }
 
 // Update implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	u, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -90,7 +94,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) Update(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, op
 }
 
 // Delete implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -113,7 +117,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) Delete(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, op
 }
 
 // DeleteAllOf implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...DeleteAllOfOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -136,7 +140,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) DeleteAllOf(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Objec
 }
 
 // Patch implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -164,7 +168,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) Patch(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, pat
 }
 
 // Get implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj Object) error {
 	u, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -190,7 +194,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) Get(ctx context.Context, key ObjectKey, obj runtim
 }
 
 // List implements client.Client
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...ListOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj ObjectList, opts ...ListOption) error {
 	u, ok := obj.(*unstructured.UnstructuredList)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -217,7 +221,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) List(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts
 		Into(obj)
 }
 
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) UpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) UpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, obj Object, opts ...UpdateOption) error {
 	_, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
@@ -239,7 +243,7 @@ func (uc *unstructuredClient) UpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Obje
 		Into(obj)
 }
 
-func (uc *unstructuredClient) PatchStatus(ctx context.Context, obj runtime.Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
+func (uc *unstructuredClient) PatchStatus(ctx context.Context, obj Object, patch Patch, opts ...PatchOption) error {
 	u, ok := obj.(*unstructured.Unstructured)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unstructured client did not understand object: %T", obj)
diff --git a/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil.go b/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil.go
index 478dda5180..7932c658f8 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil.go
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ const ( // They should complete the sentence "Deployment default/foo has been ..
 // The MutateFn is called regardless of creating or updating an object.
 //
 // It returns the executed operation and an error.
-func CreateOrUpdate(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj runtime.Object, f MutateFn) (OperationResult, error) {
+func CreateOrUpdate(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj client.Object, f MutateFn) (OperationResult, error) {
 	key, err := client.ObjectKeyFromObject(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return OperationResultNone, err
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ func CreateOrUpdate(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj runtime.Object, f
 // The MutateFn is called regardless of creating or updating an object.
 //
 // It returns the executed operation and an error.
-func CreateOrPatch(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj runtime.Object, f MutateFn) (OperationResult, error) {
+func CreateOrPatch(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, obj client.Object, f MutateFn) (OperationResult, error) {
 	key, err := client.ObjectKeyFromObject(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return OperationResultNone, err
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ func mutate(f MutateFn, key client.ObjectKey, obj runtime.Object) error {
 type MutateFn func() error
 
 // AddFinalizer accepts an Object and adds the provided finalizer if not present.
-func AddFinalizer(o Object, finalizer string) {
+func AddFinalizer(o client.Object, finalizer string) {
 	f := o.GetFinalizers()
 	for _, e := range f {
 		if e == finalizer {
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ func AddFinalizer(o Object, finalizer string) {
 }
 
 // RemoveFinalizer accepts an Object and removes the provided finalizer if present.
-func RemoveFinalizer(o Object, finalizer string) {
+func RemoveFinalizer(o client.Object, finalizer string) {
 	f := o.GetFinalizers()
 	for i := 0; i < len(f); i++ {
 		if f[i] == finalizer {
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ func RemoveFinalizer(o Object, finalizer string) {
 }
 
 // ContainsFinalizer checks an Object that the provided finalizer is present.
-func ContainsFinalizer(o Object, finalizer string) bool {
+func ContainsFinalizer(o client.Object, finalizer string) bool {
 	f := o.GetFinalizers()
 	for _, e := range f {
 		if e == finalizer {
@@ -380,7 +380,6 @@ func ContainsFinalizer(o Object, finalizer string) bool {
 
 // Object allows functions to work indistinctly with any resource that
 // implements both Object interfaces.
-type Object interface {
-	metav1.Object
-	runtime.Object
-}
+//
+// Deprecated: Use client.Object instead.
+type Object = client.Object
diff --git a/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil_test.go b/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil_test.go
index 737771601b..840f9a1f49 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controllerutil/controllerutil_test.go
@@ -723,6 +723,6 @@ type errorReader struct {
 	client.Client
 }
 
-func (e errorReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, into runtime.Object) error {
+func (e errorReader) Get(ctx context.Context, key client.ObjectKey, into client.Object) error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("unexpected error")
 }
diff --git a/pkg/event/event.go b/pkg/event/event.go
index 59abd91bd4..271b3c00fb 100644
--- a/pkg/event/event.go
+++ b/pkg/event/event.go
@@ -16,32 +16,30 @@ limitations under the License.
 
 package event
 
-import (
-	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller/controllerutil"
-)
+import "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 
 // CreateEvent is an event where a Kubernetes object was created.  CreateEvent should be generated
 // by a source.Source and transformed into a reconcile.Request by an handler.EventHandler.
 type CreateEvent struct {
 	// Object is the object from the event
-	Object controllerutil.Object
+	Object client.Object
 }
 
 // UpdateEvent is an event where a Kubernetes object was updated.  UpdateEvent should be generated
 // by a source.Source and transformed into a reconcile.Request by an handler.EventHandler.
 type UpdateEvent struct {
 	// ObjectOld is the object from the event
-	ObjectOld controllerutil.Object
+	ObjectOld client.Object
 
 	// ObjectNew is the object from the event
-	ObjectNew controllerutil.Object
+	ObjectNew client.Object
 }
 
 // DeleteEvent is an event where a Kubernetes object was deleted.  DeleteEvent should be generated
 // by a source.Source and transformed into a reconcile.Request by an handler.EventHandler.
 type DeleteEvent struct {
 	// Object is the object from the event
-	Object controllerutil.Object
+	Object client.Object
 
 	// DeleteStateUnknown is true if the Delete event was missed but we identified the object
 	// as having been deleted.
@@ -53,5 +51,5 @@ type DeleteEvent struct {
 // handler.EventHandler.
 type GenericEvent struct {
 	// Object is the object from the event
-	Object controllerutil.Object
+	Object client.Object
 }
diff --git a/pkg/handler/enqueue_mapped.go b/pkg/handler/enqueue_mapped.go
index 3111daee42..24fe3877c9 100644
--- a/pkg/handler/enqueue_mapped.go
+++ b/pkg/handler/enqueue_mapped.go
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ package handler
 
 import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller/controllerutil"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/event"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/reconcile"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/runtime/inject"
@@ -90,5 +90,5 @@ func (e *enqueueRequestsFromMapFunc) InjectFunc(f inject.Func) error {
 
 // MapObject contains information from an event to be transformed into a Request.
 type MapObject struct {
-	Object controllerutil.Object
+	Object client.Object
 }
diff --git a/pkg/predicate/predicate.go b/pkg/predicate/predicate.go
index 93a7bf0d0e..079ef23df0 100644
--- a/pkg/predicate/predicate.go
+++ b/pkg/predicate/predicate.go
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ package predicate
 import (
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/labels"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller/controllerutil"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/event"
 	logf "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/log"
 )
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ func (p Funcs) Generic(e event.GenericEvent) bool {
 // NewPredicateFuncs returns a predicate funcs that applies the given filter function
 // on CREATE, UPDATE, DELETE and GENERIC events. For UPDATE events, the filter is applied
 // to the new object.
-func NewPredicateFuncs(filter func(object controllerutil.Object) bool) Funcs {
+func NewPredicateFuncs(filter func(object client.Object) bool) Funcs {
 	return Funcs{
 		CreateFunc: func(e event.CreateEvent) bool {
 			return filter(e.Object)
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ func LabelSelectorPredicate(s metav1.LabelSelector) (Predicate, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return Funcs{}, err
 	}
-	return NewPredicateFuncs(func(o controllerutil.Object) bool {
+	return NewPredicateFuncs(func(o client.Object) bool {
 		return selector.Matches(labels.Set(o.GetLabels()))
 	}), nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/predicate/predicate_test.go b/pkg/predicate/predicate_test.go
index ddf5e15391..c4419a6435 100644
--- a/pkg/predicate/predicate_test.go
+++ b/pkg/predicate/predicate_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import (
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 
-	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller/controllerutil"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/event"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/predicate"
 )
@@ -468,8 +468,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Predicate", func() {
 	})
 
 	Describe("NewPredicateFuncs with a namespace filter function", func() {
-		byNamespaceFilter := func(namespace string) func(object controllerutil.Object) bool {
-			return func(object controllerutil.Object) bool {
+		byNamespaceFilter := func(namespace string) func(object client.Object) bool {
+			return func(object client.Object) bool {
 				return object.GetNamespace() == namespace
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/source/internal/eventsource.go b/pkg/source/internal/eventsource.go
index df2fb515c6..33c4c41348 100644
--- a/pkg/source/internal/eventsource.go
+++ b/pkg/source/internal/eventsource.go
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/event"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/handler"
 	logf "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/log"
 
-	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/controller/controllerutil"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/predicate"
 )
 
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func (e EventHandler) OnAdd(obj interface{}) {
 	c := event.CreateEvent{}
 
 	// Pull Object out of the object
-	if o, ok := obj.(controllerutil.Object); ok {
+	if o, ok := obj.(client.Object); ok {
 		c.Object = o
 	} else {
 		log.Error(nil, "OnAdd missing Object",
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func (e EventHandler) OnAdd(obj interface{}) {
 func (e EventHandler) OnUpdate(oldObj, newObj interface{}) {
 	u := event.UpdateEvent{}
 
-	if o, ok := oldObj.(controllerutil.Object); ok {
+	if o, ok := oldObj.(client.Object); ok {
 		u.ObjectOld = o
 	} else {
 		log.Error(nil, "OnUpdate missing ObjectOld",
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ func (e EventHandler) OnUpdate(oldObj, newObj interface{}) {
 	}
 
 	// Pull Object out of the object
-	if o, ok := newObj.(controllerutil.Object); ok {
+	if o, ok := newObj.(client.Object); ok {
 		u.ObjectNew = o
 	} else {
 		log.Error(nil, "OnUpdate missing ObjectNew",
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ func (e EventHandler) OnDelete(obj interface{}) {
 	// This should never happen if we aren't missing events, which we have concluded that we are not
 	// and made decisions off of this belief.  Maybe this shouldn't be here?
 	var ok bool
-	if _, ok = obj.(controllerutil.Object); !ok {
+	if _, ok = obj.(client.Object); !ok {
 		// If the object doesn't have Metadata, assume it is a tombstone object of type DeletedFinalStateUnknown
 		tombstone, ok := obj.(cache.DeletedFinalStateUnknown)
 		if !ok {
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ func (e EventHandler) OnDelete(obj interface{}) {
 	}
 
 	// Pull Object out of the object
-	if o, ok := obj.(controllerutil.Object); ok {
+	if o, ok := obj.(client.Object); ok {
 		d.Object = o
 	} else {
 		log.Error(nil, "OnDelete missing Object",
diff --git a/pkg/source/source.go b/pkg/source/source.go
index 5eff2177b5..fe0e47150a 100644
--- a/pkg/source/source.go
+++ b/pkg/source/source.go
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/meta"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/event"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/handler"
 	logf "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/internal/log"
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ type SyncingSource interface {
 // NewKindWithCache creates a Source without InjectCache, so that it is assured that the given cache is used
 // and not overwritten. It can be used to watch objects in a different cluster by passing the cache
 // from that other cluster
-func NewKindWithCache(object runtime.Object, cache cache.Cache) SyncingSource {
+func NewKindWithCache(object client.Object, cache cache.Cache) SyncingSource {
 	return &kindWithCache{kind: Kind{Type: object, cache: cache}}
 }
 
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func (ks *kindWithCache) WaitForSync(ctx context.Context) error {
 // Kind is used to provide a source of events originating inside the cluster from Watches (e.g. Pod Create)
 type Kind struct {
 	// Type is the type of object to watch.  e.g. &v1.Pod{}
-	Type runtime.Object
+	Type client.Object
 
 	// cache used to watch APIs
 	cache cache.Cache
diff --git a/pkg/source/source_integration_test.go b/pkg/source/source_integration_test.go
index 2a19729097..087cdbcb4c 100644
--- a/pkg/source/source_integration_test.go
+++ b/pkg/source/source_integration_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"time"
 
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/event"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/handler"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/runtime/inject"
@@ -30,7 +31,6 @@ import (
 	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	kubeinformers "k8s.io/client-go/informers"
 	toolscache "k8s.io/client-go/tools/cache"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/util/workqueue"
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ import (
 
 var _ = Describe("Source", func() {
 	var instance1, instance2 *source.Kind
-	var obj runtime.Object
+	var obj client.Object
 	var q workqueue.RateLimitingInterface
 	var c1, c2 chan interface{}
 	var ns string