Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are two leaders of British comedy, having starred in films such as “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” In “Paul,” a new film about two British geeks harboring a fugitive alien on a road trip across America, the actors worked with more American humor. They recently sat down with a number of Boston reporters, including a reporter from The Huntington News, to discuss their experiences in comedy and their new film.

What is your philosophy for writing?

Pegg: I think everything we write is to make ourselves laugh. We learned very early on that what we find funny is shared by other people as well, and it’s not exclusive to us. So the first litmus test our writing has is whether or not we find it funny. I think some comedy writers try to guess what other people find funny when you should always write what you find funny and just hope to God that someone else does too.

Are you geeks like your characters in real life?

Frost: Just because you’re in a position to make films and, you know, hang out with Seth Rogen doesn’t mean you don’t have a weird feeling when you hear a TIE fighter (Twin Ion Engines,  the starfighter ships from Star Wars) screaming down a trench. That is in me I think, and I certainly know it’s in Simon.

What do you think of Comic-Con?

Frost: It’s our nerd Mecca.

What was it like to work with American actors? Is the film less British than some of your others?

Frost: I don’t think we even register that they’re American actors. They are mates who we’re making a film with.

Pegg: We wanted to work with these people, and we found them to be kindred spirits. And the reason the sensibility isn’t as British is because the film isn’t as resolutely British. We’re not saying anything about Britain in this film. We were in the other two [“Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”]. In this one, we’re talking about the aliens in this film are Graeme and Clive. They’re two British guys in America, and the film as such is about America. … But we found we find the same things funny.

What do you think of Seth Rogen’s performance?

Pegg: Seth was able to throw some ideas in and adjust the dialogue a little bit, make Paul his own. He’d been looking at a lot of Neil Young and kind of old hippies and wanted to instill Paul with that. And I think what he brings to the character is just beautiful. I forget Seth’s in the movie when I watch it. To me, it’s just Paul now.

Why did you feature the theme of evolution in the movie?

Pegg: In some respects … any film featuring an alien is kind of blasphemous because it acknowledges that something exists beyond our world, which is essentially the center of every religion. So it just felt like a really interesting idea to play out comically. Mainly just so we could say silly swear words.

What is it like to meet other actors and directors you respect? Are you ever disappointed?

Pegg: None of these people, you know, massive stars, great directors, they all seem to have a good knowledge of who they are and what their place in the universe is. It seems to be that everyone around them that elevates them to this ridiculous status, this crazy notion of celebrity that we’re so obsessed with these days.