What are you up to today?
Rickman: I'm in New York. I'm just here for three or four days for "CBGB" in New York and then back to work in England.

Grint: I'm rehearsing a play that will start [in London] in a couple of weeks. Yeah, so that's it.

Are you enjoying the theater work? Are you more of a theater guy or a film guy?
Grint: I don’t know, really. This is my first theater experience, and it’s very different. I wanted to just try it; it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Just the thought of it scares me. I’ve kind of put it off for a long time, and I just thought it was a good time to do it. And it’s a great play and a really great cast with a great director, and it was just, yeah, I’m enjoying it.

How was it to reunite? Had you seen each other since doing press for the eighth "Harry Potter" movie?
Rickman: No, because I think we’d both been so busy doing other things. But it was great to see him on the set, and it was great to watch all three of them. I saw Emma [Watson] the other night in London in a restaurant, and I saw Daniel [Radcliffe] recently in London because he was doing a play. It’s great to watch the three of them moving forward into the rest of their lives and being working actors and not trapped by one image.

Grint: Not really, no, actually. ... I love Alan. He’s always been one of my favorites. But yeah, it was quite weird seeing him in a whole new kind of environment because -- I’m trying to think back -- I don’t think I ever really saw him outside of that wig and cloak.

Which "Potter" co-star would you most like to reunite with?
Grint: There are so many. All of them. I’ve already loved working with them. I like Michael Gambon. He’s so cool; just a remarkable guy. I’ve worked with Julie Walters before as well. I love her, she’s great.

Now for something more fun. It's October. What's your favorite Halloween costume you've ever worn?
Rickman: [Laughs] The thing about Halloween is, to me, it just means -- because it’s so different in England –- we used to have something called Bonfire Night, and we’d have fireworks. That’s disappeared and I know Halloween’s taken over. Halloween to me as a child was, the family would fill a bowl of water and you’d have apple bobbing in it, and you’d get apples out of a bowl of water. To me it just means a soaking wet shirt.

Grint: I liked Halloween. It never used to be a big thing when I was kid. We never really did it. But I actually had a good costume not that long ago. The last one, I dressed as a Play-Doh can that I made. You know Play-Doh?

Of course.
Grint: Well, literally, I actually made it. It was a yellow bin. I cut the bottom out and I just wore a yellow bin with a Play-Doh logo. With a yellow hat. It’s not very practical.

You had to try out an American accent in this role. Is there an accent out there that you'd be intimidated to have to use on camera?
Rickman: I think every English actor is nervous of a Newcastle accent. That’s really difficult.

Grint: It’s quite fun just trying to work on it and get it right. I like that kind of challenge. A couple years ago, I did a film that required me to do a Liverpool accent. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that sound, but that was quite a hard one. It’s quite a harsh sound. But I enjoy that side of things.

Alan, you often play very dominant roles, very powerful people. What were your thoughts going into a character who was much more loose-goosey? Is it fun to shift gears and play that sort of character?
Rickman: I suppose, in my perspective, I’ve played as many of those as I have the other sort. It’s just some get more publicity or make more money at the box office or something. I’m perfectly happy to be Colonel Brandon in “Sense & Sensibility” as I am any of those powerful characters. It’s just part of an actor’s job, and you just alter the colors that you get out of the cupboard.

Not knowing much of the mythology of CBGB, how did you come to learn about your characters?
Rickman: What I really enjoyed and what made it interesting to play was the fact that he happened in direct contrast to the world of the club and what its history became. Because there was this big quiet, contained man who made a club for country music and it never ever played there. Along came punk, and he became like that deus ex machina, I suppose. I watched old interviews and DVDs. I listened to him talking to his mother and his daughter and journalists, so there was a lot of material for me.

Grint: Yeah, there wasn’t really a whole lot to go on. There are a few videos of him playing live at CBGB and a few interviews I watched. Yeah, and having [Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome] on set was quite a different thing. I had kind of a little bit of pressure because he was kind of watching every scene, and you’re trying to portray him and do him justice, and it’s quite a challenge.