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TV legend Bryan Cranston loved soaring off Woodrat Mountain during four days of shooting for “The Upside,” according to local paragliders who helped on the set of the film. Cranston, who won fame for his roles in “Breaking Bad,” “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Seinfeld,” plays Phillip Lacasse, a French tycoon trying to recapture the joys of life after a paragliding crash causes him to become a paraplegic. Now in theaters, “The Upside” is based on the true story of a billionaire struggling with depression until his aide takes him gleefully paragliding in the mountains which, in this case are the beautiful hills around Ruch, where Woodrat has thrived as a world-class soaring spot for almost four decades. “Bryan was amazing. He flew for hours at a time,” said pilot Paul Murdoch, who is president of Gary West Meats in Jacksonville. “Bryan was a champ, a very genuine guy, and he did all his own shots while he was here. “His character gets woken up that there is fun to be had in life. It’s a major revelation, and he gets that dreamy look in his eyes, about how incredible flying is. It may not come across to people who are not paragliding pilots, but it’s real.” Murdoch did site management and organized a safety team to help with the launch of Cranston, who was strapped into a bulky wheelchair in tandem with professional pilot Nick Greece. Murdoch and pilots Kevin Lee, Sam Crocker and Rick Ray soared in the background. Lee is an Ashland paragliding instructor. Kevin Hart, aide to the tycoon, didn’t fly at Woodrat but was filmed flying on a crane elsewhere, says Murdoch. The crews used body doubles on some shots, says Ashland producer Annie Lundgren, but Cranston did his own stunt work in most shots, which took place over four days in April and May 2017. “He loved it,” she said, “and would stay up for an hour or two, then rest. It could be a little nerve-wracking, strapped in a chair.” Pilot Nick Greece, she adds, “was a real pro. He coordinated everything. He does this all over the world, and his main concern was definitely safety.” The shoot provided many local film-crew jobs, Lundgren notes, adding, “We all had a lot of fun and hired additional local pilots who took up cameramen in tandem.” The film was due out in late 2017, but it was a Harvey Weinstein property and “got caught up in his bankruptcy” over #MeToo issues, said Murdoch. Murdoch was president of the Rogue Valley Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and, through its magazine, was contacted by Hollywood producers in search of a good location. He did site scouting, photos, logistics, moved equipment to the top of the mountain and found “ultralight people who could fly around in the scene.” Lundgren and her husband, Gary Lundgren, have produced several movies in Oregon — “Calvin Marshall,” “Redwood Highway,” “Black Road” and, coming out soon, “Phoenix Oregon,” which is about two friends who quit jobs to restore an old bowling alley. “The Upside” was a remake of the 2011 French hit “The Intouchables.” It is based on a paragliding crash in 1993. Both employed a street-savvy, high-spirited black man with no experience in the culture of the rich, to help connect a paralyzed man with the simple joys of life — as symbolized by flying. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected] .