Unable to read input on non-controlled actors (pawns)

Not sure, but you do not need to possess anything to process input.

I have an actor that needs to read
player input using Blueprint, but it
will not recognize any input unless it
is possessed by that player.

What I understood from OP’s question is that (s)he is having doubts whether actors recognise player input. They do, of course.

There is a chance I’m misunderstanding something, though.