Strong, silent type

WHEN YOU look over Ed Harris' extensive filmography, it's surprising how few Westerns he's made. He seems ideally suited for the genre - rugged, serious, don't talk much - and his new film, "Appaloosa," which he also co-wrote and directed, gives him a great chance to act tough, ride horses and chase bad guys.

Based on the novel by the prolific Robert B. Parker (author of the Spenser private eye series), "Appaloosa" re-teams Harris with Viggo Mortensen (his co-star in "A History of Violence") as two lawmen-for-hire whose friendship is tested by a woman (Renee Zellweger) and a corrupt businessman (Jeremy Irons).

The Daily News spoke with Harris at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the Toronto International Film Festival last month.

Q: What was your impression of Robert B. Parker?

A: I didn't have one. I'd read a lot of his books but I'd never met Bob. He thought it was interesting that I wanted to make a film out of his book, which, I think, he appreciated. And he knew my work a bit. And when I was doing "Gone, Baby, Gone" we had dinner in Boston, which is where he's based, and he said, "Hey, man, go for it." We didn't pay any option money or anything. He said, "If you guys want to write a script, we'll work out the deal later." So, that was pretty cool of him.

Q: Between Spenser and his other novels he writes close to three books a year . . .

A: He's written two sequels to this story. One was published called "Resolution," and the third one's called "Brimstone," and it hasn't come out yet. The guy's amazing.

Q: Parker tells a lot of story through his dialogue. That's not as true in a Western . . .

A: I guess not, but there's quite a bit of dialogue here. . . . It's not expository but they do talk a bit.

Q: Unlike in many Westerns, the men in "Appaloosa" actually have feelings. They just have a hard time expressing them. Was that a choice or a reflection of the time period?

A: I don't think they really feel the need to articulate their feelings, but I don't think they're afraid to let their partner know that they have them. It's not like they're afraid of their feelings. One thing that I like about these characters is that it's not psychoanalysis time. They don't spend a lot of time upstairs. If they've got a problem, they do something about it. They're not losing sleep over stuff because they can't get it out of their head.

Q: Would you say that without the protections of modern society, these men didn't have the luxury to think too much?

A: In a way, yeah. If you're living out there and your horse goes lame you've got to deal with it - either get another horse or hope that he heals or walk where you got to get or borrow your neighbor's. If it's dry and the corn's dying, what are you going to do? It's not about "My relationship with my daughter . . . she's not eating." I'm not saying that people didn't have psychological problems and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having therapy to help yourself live. I'm just saying that back then it was different. You didn't have all this . . . stuff.

Q: Which Westerns inspired "Appaloosa"?

A: I'm not sure why but I really liked "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." There's something about "The Ox-Bow Incident" that I like a lot. "Ride the High Country" with Randolph Scott. There are parts of "The Wild Bunch" that are really great. "My Darling Clementine" is a really cool film. Some of the early Budd Boetticher stuff . . .

Viggo keeps saying that 99 percent of them aren't any good and you do see some corny ones, but there are some great films: "High Noon," "Shane." One film that I hadn't been familiar with that I really liked was "One Eyed Jacks." You should check it out.

Q: As civilization encroaches, are we losing the locations that make for great Western vistas?

A: In New Mexico there are still places, and I'm sure in Texas and Arizona. Probably even in California, in certain spots. They used to make a lot of Westerns where I live, by the ocean, in the valley, but they can't do that anymore because of the air.

But even in the most remote location we were in, we'd have to [CGI] out a jetstream in the sky, or there could be some building somewhere or a telephone wire. . . . Plus with the cost of filming, it has to be somewhere accessible. There were places we had to literally pack-horse cameras in, or walk across rocky terrain to get to where we wanted to shoot, but we weren't doing that very often. It wasn't like we were 10 hours away from our home base. People still have to eat and sleep or they'll get worn out.

But the further out we went it was fun, because I really like the open country.

Q: Any similarities between "Appaloosa" and the last film you directed, "Pollock"?

A: Not really. They're both about men trying to deal with s- - -. *